By Clint Thompson
Georgia’s congressional delegation is urged to pass the Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act (SAWA). Members of Georgia’s House and Senate Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committees, along with the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association, sent a letter, stressing the need for lasting Ag labor reform.
Sam Watson, Colquitt County farmer and state senator, joined Senate Ag and Consumer Affairs Committee Chairman Russ Goodman in supporting the letter to urge advancement of H.R. 9535.
“Oh, it’s important, just to be able to have that stability and know what’s going to happen. It’s just difficult right now,” Watson said. “We’ve just got so many problems with it. That’s always been a challenge, the last four years is you finish one season and then the next thing you know is labor’s going up and you’ve already agreed to contracts and you’ve already tried to do budgets and make plans and then at the end of the year, you get something like your labor’s going to go up 10% to 15%.”
AEWR Concerns
The letter highlighted a challenge familiar to GFVGA members: repeated changes to the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) make it almost impossible to budget, negotiate contracts and plan for future cropping systems.
“A dependable agricultural workforce is essential to Georgia. Our fruit, nut and vegetable growers generated approximately $2.4 billion in farm gate value in 2024,” the letter read. “Many of these crops must be planted, tended and harvested within narrow windows. Georgia remains one of the nation’s leading users of the H-2A program. When workers arrive late or labor costs change unexpectedly, growers cannot simply postpone the harvest.”
A federal court in California directed the Department of Labor to develop a new AEWR methodology.
“Current wage rates remain in effect, but the prospect of another change leaves Georgia farms planning future seasons without a stable foundation,” the letter added. “Congress should settle the central questions in law rather than leave agricultural employers and employees dependent on another round of rulemaking and litigation.”
SAWA would establish a more predictable wage framework, limit sharp annual wage changes and prevent a new AEWR from changing wages during an existing contract.
Source: Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association