Angie Craig: “What did they say? They said it very clearly: a failure to reform the H-2A program has put American agriculture in an…”

“What did they say? They said it very clearly: a failure to reform the H-2A program has put American agriculture in an untenable position. As we bring in the numbers this winter to do the harvest this summer and fall, it is reasonable to predict the loss that the American consumers are now hearing about in bits and pieces through the national news could well be equivalent to $4 billion to $5 billion of actual value lost at the farm gate--meaning the produce did not leave the farm, it did not make it to the processor, it will never make it to the consumer's shelf, and American consumers will grow increasingly dependent upon foreign sources for their food supply. For a great nation like ours, that is not only dangerous, it is foolish and irresponsible. As we put American agriculture through this difficult time by our failure to enact comprehensive immigration reform, something else is going on out there on the farm. Diesel costs, fertilizer costs, equipment costs are at an all-time high. Of course, we know the general energy costs have increased at an unprecedented rate this year. Not only do we have the impact of high input costs in the production of American agriculture and agricultural foodstuffs, now there is nobody to pick the crop.”