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Specialty‑crop growers warn H‑2A wage rises threaten viability; mechanization and R&D proposed
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Summary
Specialty‑crop witnesses told the committee that labor comprises a large share of production costs, recent H‑2A wage increases are squeezing margins, and investment in mechanization, research and crop‑protection registrations could help maintain domestic specialty production.
Specialty‑crop producers and their coalition representatives told the House Agriculture Committee that labor is the single largest expense for many fruit, vegetable and tree‑nut operations and that rising H‑2A wages are becoming unsustainable for some producers.
Ryan Talley of Talley Farms, representing the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance, said labor can account for “nearly half of the cost of our production” and that H‑2A wage increases have raised costs dramatically on his family’s Central Coast, California operation. Talley said the program ‘‘likely saved our farm’’ early on but that escalating wage and housing obligations now threaten viability.
Why it matters: specialty crops are often labor‑intensive and perishable, so higher labor costs and limited access to replacement crop‑protection products create both economic and supply‑chain vulnerability. Witnesses argued that targeted farm bill investments in R&D, mechanization incentives and crop‑insurance changes for specialty crops would improve resilience.
Testimony highlights: Talley said mechanization and automation are essential to long‑term competitiveness and described incremental gains from harvest‑aids and belts that reduced a 14‑person crew to 11 in an example farm application. He also recommended funding for research into crop‑protection alternatives and technologies to reduce manual labor needs. Committee members asked about H‑2A reforms and the committee’s Agriculture Labor Working Group was cited as a vehicle for bipartisan change.
Ending: Members and witnesses urged inclusion of specialty‑crop needs in reauthorization language — specifically targeted crop‑insurance changes, expanded market development funding, and R&D/innovation incentives to help growers adopt labor‑saving technologies.
