March 2025 - 40

AG LABOR REVIEW
BY MICHAEL MARSH | PRESIDENT & CEO NATIONAL COUNCIL OF AGRICULTURAL EMPLOYERS
Labor forum highlights
2024, future successes
T
hat's a wrap! The 11th Annual
Ag Employer Labor Forum held
at the beautiful M Resort near
Las Vegas is in the books and will be
remembered for many things.
Once again, the event sold out
as more than 400 attendees and
200 companies came together
to hear discussions, panels and
presentations on topics ranging
from economics, farm safety,
litigation and opportunities to
use robots in agriculture and
demonstrations.
Visitors had the opportunity to
walk through the sold-out trade
show and visit with representatives
of foreign labor ministries,
software companies, and experts in
transportation and logistics as well
as ethical recruitment. Government
agencies spurred conversations on
compliance with often convoluted
and conflicting regulations.
One of the many highlights
from the event for anyone who
might be a numbers person was
a presentation by Alexandra Hill,
who holds a doctorate from the
University of California at Berkeley.
Her recent research analyzed data
from the Department of Labor's
(DOL) National Agricultural Workers
Survey (NAWS) in California.
A couple of years ago, California
enacted new overtime regulations
for agricultural workers in the state.
Of course, not only did the farmers
object but farmworkers did as well.
Both employers and the employees
had testified before the state
legislature that worker take-home
pay would be reduced as farmers
couldn't afford overtime.
Union organizers scoffed at the
notion, perhaps believing that
farm and ranch families have
The costs of complying with the H-2A regulations,
including wages that must be paid, are eliminating the
opportunity for profit in labor-intensive agriculture. For
every apple, cherry, cucumber, tomato, orange, strawberry,
or blueberry harvested in the U.S., employers are losing
equity in their legacy operations. This is unsustainable. "
some ability to pass along costs
added by government whim. Hill's
research proved that the farmers
and workers knew what they were
talking about in their testimony
before the legislature. Overtime
regulations dramatically reduced
worker take-home pay.
Hill's latest analysis, shared
at the Labor Forum, validates
concerns raised by the National
Council of Agricultural Employers
(NCAE) and our members with the
Congress and the regulators. The
costs of complying with the H-2A
regulations, including wages that
40 | MARCH 2025

March 2025

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of March 2025

Editor's Letter
Southeast Honors
Specialty crop industry braces for policy shifts
Michigan ag leaders spearhead H-2A education campaign
Idaho gold
Celebrating women in agriculture
2025 disease survey report
Disease challenges
Organic Grower Winter 2025
40 Under Forty Fresh Views
Farm Market & Agritourism
Ag Labor Review
Classifieds
Advertiser Index
March 2025 - 1
March 2025 - 2
March 2025 - 3
March 2025 - Editor's Letter
March 2025 - 5
March 2025 - Southeast Honors
March 2025 - 7
March 2025 - Specialty crop industry braces for policy shifts
March 2025 - 9
March 2025 - 10
March 2025 - Michigan ag leaders spearhead H-2A education campaign
March 2025 - Idaho gold
March 2025 - 13
March 2025 - 14
March 2025 - 15
March 2025 - 16
March 2025 - 17
March 2025 - Celebrating women in agriculture
March 2025 - 19
March 2025 - 20
March 2025 - 21
March 2025 - 22
March 2025 - 23
March 2025 - 2025 disease survey report
March 2025 - 25
March 2025 - Disease challenges
March 2025 - 27
March 2025 - 28
March 2025 - Organic Grower Winter 2025
March 2025 - 30
March 2025 - 31
March 2025 - 32
March 2025 - 33
March 2025 - 34
March 2025 - 35
March 2025 - 40 Under Forty Fresh Views
March 2025 - 37
March 2025 - Farm Market & Agritourism
March 2025 - 39
March 2025 - Ag Labor Review
March 2025 - 41
March 2025 - Classifieds
March 2025 - Advertiser Index
March 2025 - 44
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https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/january-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/buyers-guide-2024
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https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/december-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/buyers-guide-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/november-2022
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https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/march-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/february-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/seedguide-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/buyersguide-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/january-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/december-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/november-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/october-2021
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https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/august-2021
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https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/february-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/seedguide-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/buyersguide-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/january-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/december-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/november-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/october-2020
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https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/january-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/december-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/november-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/october-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/september-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/august-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/july-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/june-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/may-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/april-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/march-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/february-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/buyersguide-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/january-2019
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