Farmer Co-ops Support New Ag Labor Bill, Urge Swift Action to Address Agriculture’s Labor Crisis

Washington, D.C. (June 30, 2026)-The National Council of Farmer Cooperatives (NCFC) today applauded the introduction of the Securing Agriculture's Workforce Act (SAWA) by House Agriculture Committee Chair G.T. Thompson (R-Pa.) and Representative Don Davis (D-N.C.), calling the legislation a critical step toward resolving the labor crisis threatening America's farmers and ranchers.

SAWA would expand the H-2A agricultural guestworker program to cover year-round labor needs-closing a longstanding gap that has left farmers with permanent workforces unable to access the program-and would clarify that farmer co-ops are eligible to participate in the program on behalf of their members' operations.

"I want to thank Chairman Thompson and Congressman Davis for their leadership in introducing this legislation," said Duane Simpson, president and CEO of NCFC. "For too long, farmers with year-round labor needs have been locked out of the H-2A program through no fault of their own, and farmer co-ops have faced legal uncertainty about whether they can use the program to serve their members. SAWA fixes both of those problems."

The bill would also help farmers control costs by codifying how wages are calculated and streamlining and modernizing the program.

"America's ability to feed itself is a matter of national security, and that security depends on a legal, reliable agricultural workforce," Simpson continued. "We urge Congress to move swiftly to pass SAWA and give America's farmers and their cooperatives the tools they need to get the job done."