Nearly 2,000 miles separate this charming Pennsylvanian hamlet in Lancaster County from the southernmost point of the continent.
However, Lisa Graybill, a farmer and co-owner of Graywood Farms in the heart of Amish country, warns of a critical immigration issue that she and other farmers say is not receiving enough attention: they depend on migrant workers to keep their farms operating and to feed Americans.
Graybill emphasized how important the situation was. Our dairy farm wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for immigrant labor.
She and other Pennsylvania farmers say they want Congress to stop squabbling over immigration and pass legislation granting year-round growers and producers access to the H2-A farmworker program utilized by seasonal growers and producers, which characterizes the majority of farms. The lack of workers in the agricultural sector would be lessened by the visa program.
At a farm like Graybill’s, where she claimed it took two months only to train someone how to properly milk cows, a seasonal visa is insufficient.
“Here, we require long-term employees. We require personnel year-round “A three- or five-year curriculum would be more suitable, she continued.
The Farm Workforce Modernization Act, which was supported by 40 Republicans and passed the House twice, is something that many farm owners want the U.S. Senate to enact. They believe the window is dwindling to get it passed and have been working with Sens. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, and Michael Bennet, D-Colo.
Graywood Farms’ co-owner Lisa Graybill is a farmer.
Despite the fact that Congress have been putting off immigration reform for years, it still needs to be done. The system is flawed. Can we at least obtain a bill for immigration that benefits the agricultural industry so we have food security?
