US farmers are advocating for an expansion of the H-2A visa program to address labor shortages, facing opposition from labor groups and some conservatives who cite concerns about worker exploitation and competition with American workers. The Trump administration's focus on immigration enforcement has intensified the debate.
US farmers are advocating for an expansion of the H-2A visa program to address labor shortages, facing opposition from labor groups and some conservatives who cite concerns about worker exploitation and competition with American workers. The proposed bill aims to remove seasonal requirements and include sectors like forestry and livestock.
President Donald Trump announced a memorandum of understanding to end his 'war' and open Iran as a new market for US agricultural exports, citing a humanitarian crisis in Iran. However, Iranian officials immediately contradicted Trump's claims, denying any agreement to purchase US crops and criticizing US policy.
Temperature swings have left crops across the Plains in terrible conditions, with some farmers opting not to harvestMerrill Nielsen’s wheat crop looked healthy after he planted it in the fall on his 2,500-acre farm in north-central Kansas, about 50 miles west of Salina, the plants benefiting from higher-than-normal November rainfall.But an abnormally warm and dry winter, followed by extreme temperature variability, stressed the developing wheat. In the winter-to-spring transition, temperatures fluctuated from 70 to 80F on some days and lows in the teens or low 20s on other days. Continue reading...
Fuminori Arita once farmed iyokan, a Japanese citrus variety, but about 10 years ago he switched to growing avocados, revelling in the challenge of producing crops of what he describes as a “sensitive and difficult to grow” fruit. The 67-year-old is symbolic of efforts by the western Japanese city of Matsuyama in Ehime prefecture, long known primarily for citrus cultivation, to shift more to avocados, partly as a strategy to adapt to rising temperatures amid climate change. Given the challenge...
