During the American Dairy Coalition’s (ADC) Annual Business Meeting, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Rep. Mike Conaway stressed the importance of producers’ voices in pushing progress on immigration reform.
As an industry, we must continue to share our story with elected officials. Share personal experiences, help your elected officials understand why current visa programs do not work for employee shortages and what your future looks like without access to reliable labor.
The American Dairy Coalition held its 2017 Annual Business Meeting for members on Wednesday, Dec. 13. The meeting, attended by producers and allied businesses of the dairy industry from across the nation, featured a presentation by Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee Rep. Mike Conaway (R-TX). Rep. Conway briefed attendees on progress the Agriculture Committee has made on the upcoming Farm Bill and urged ADC to rally the dairy industry into a united front for the 2018 Farm Bill. He reports that everything is on track for the Farm Bill to be brought to the House Floor early next year and the final Farm Bill to be completed by next Fall.
Rep. Conaway also addressed rising concerns over a lack of a reliable safety net tool for the dairy industry. He discussed new policy that is moving forward that will improve current tools dairy producers are using for risk management because of the continued loss of profitability due to depressed milk prices. ADC will release more details as they become available.
Finally, Rep. Conaway addressed concerns over exports. The Chairman visited Canada and reassured ADC Members that, in spite of the strength of Canadian dairy lobbyists, he feels there is still room to complete NAFTA.
In regard to immigration reform, Conaway supports Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and his work on the AG Act to create a new H2-C visa category for Guestworkers for the dairy and agriculture industry. Rep. Conaway understands the need for reliable labor in the dairy industry and urges dairy producers to share their struggles with their elected officials. Immigration reform is a heavy lift and currently not the top priority of Congress, making it crucial our industry continues to reach out to our Washington, D.C. legislators over and over again. A constant voice urging Congress to take up the difficult and controversial task of immigration reform is the only way to increase pressure on D.C. legislators to move something forward as quick as possible.
ADC Represents over 30,000 Dairy Producers from Across the Country
The American Dairy Coalition will continue to represent dairy producers from across the nation in the coming year and is taking on high priority issues that face the dairy industry such as, ensuring a reliable labor force, increasing the sale of dairy products both domestically and overseas, actively engaging and advocating for members throughout the 2018 Farm Bill process and reducing over burdensome environmental regulations that do nothing more than cost our members additional dollars with no benefit to the environment. To learn more about the American Dairy Coalition and our membership opportunities, please visit www.americandairycoalitioninc.com
Source: The American Dairy Coalition
