Since 2011, there have been more than two dozen farm labor reform bills proposed in the U.S. Congress with no major progress to addressing the issue of agricultural workers. This week, a bipartisan compromise bill will be introduced that has a better than 50/50 chance of passing, despite the air of distinct partisanship in Congress – especially around immigration issues. Farm labor, as well as labor for commodity processors like meat plants, is increasingly a significant issue for the farm economy. Competition for labor has pushed up wage rates in the past several years, even as commodity prices have fallen.
There are fewer workers, especially young workers coming into farm jobs. According to the USDA, the average age of imm...
What You Need to Know Today: Commodities were mostly lower across the board today after yesterday’s Federal Reserve meeting hinted at a potential interest rate hike later in 2026. The dollar index reached its highest level in over a year, and a strong dollar makes U.S. agricultural expor...
Tomorrow is the Juneteenth federal holiday, and the USDA, along with the rest of the federal government and the CME, will be closed, so the monthly Cattle on Feed report was released a day early. The total number of cattle on feed in feedlots with 1,000 head or more capacity on 1 June amounted...
