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Farmers tell Senate H-2A program, wage survey and housing costs are squeezing operations
Summary
Growers at a Senate hearing said high H-2A costs, housing obligations and a decades‑old farm wage survey are making seasonal labor unaffordable and urged Congress to reform the program and freeze or redesign the prevailing wage calculation.
Growers and farm-industry witnesses told the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging that labor shortages and H-2A program costs are a critical constraint on farm viability and succession. "It costs me $22 an hour for my H-2A labor," Jim Alderman, owner of Alderman Farms, told the committee, explaining that employers also pay visa and travel costs and provide housing.
Witnesses and farmers said…
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