Agriculture Takes On The Government At Public Policy Conference

Immigration and labor reform. The 2007 Farm Bill. Food safety. Increasing access to fresh fruits and vegetables in Federal programs. Those are some of the hottest topics in agriculture, and they were the main issues up for discussion at the United Fresh Washington Public Policy Conference (WPPC) that was held in Washington, DC, last month.

In addition to AVG’s presentation of the 2007 Grower Achievement Award to Vic and Chris Anthony of Anthony Farms in Scandinavia, WI, (see story page 28), the WPPC was the forum used by growers to present their thoughts and ideas to their senators and state representatives on some of the topics mentioned above. Conference participants delved into more detail on how a “one size fits all” mentality for food safety regulations going across all produce commodities will have a negative impact on the industry as a whole, and because of the seasonality of the agricultural industry, the needs of growers should be looked at differently in terms of labor and immigration reform.

Another topic that was discussed during the conference was the “No Match” regulation. In August, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced that it will be requiring all growers and other employers to take additional steps to protect themselves from liability when notified that the Social Security Administration (SSA) is unable to match an employee’s name and social security number to its records. The new guidelines require employers to resolve the discrepancies within 90 days of SSA notification.

Dealing With Another Blow

This is a huge increase in responsibility placed on the grower to ensure his workforce is legitimate. If the grower doesn’t follow the guidelines, it may be assumed that he had “constructive knowledge” that the employee is here illegally. On top of that, the penalty for this offense was increased by 25%.

As one grower said at the conference: “How can we be held accountable if we don’t have the tools to comply? Why does everything have to happen after someone has been hired? There should be more tools out there to help employers comply before someone is hired.”

At press time, a reprieve was issued when a federal judge granted a request for temporary injunction to postpone the implementation of the No-Match regulation until Oct. 1.

In the meantime, what is the next step for growers dealing with all of these issues? The answer is to take the time to educate and advocate. As one speaker at the WPPC said: “If you don’t pitch for your issues, nobody else will do it for you.”

So take a stand and have a voice. Think about it — what will you lose if you sit back and let someone else carry the load? It could be a lot.