By Clint Thompson
Specialty crop producers rely on industry supporters like Will Bentley, president of the Georgia Agribusiness Council, to be a voice at the state and federal levels. It is a responsibility that Bentley does not take lightly.
“For us at the Agribusiness Council, we feel like our role is to take that fight to the capitol; whether that’s in Atlanta or Washington D.C. We know our farms and agribusinesses have other things going on, and they’re too busy to do it every day. We try to be their representatives in the legislature, their representatives in Congress and continue to educate the bureaucrats that are running the departments on the state and federal levels,” Bentley said. “We’re trying to let these folks know that are making decisions how those decisions impact someone back home.”
Educating Legislators
Bentley’s knowledge and influence are needed to educate legislators who do not possess a background in agriculture. They were essential when talks centered on the Adverse Effect Wage Rate.
“It’s a lot of times, these folks are not trying to hurt agriculture, they just don’t understand the things that they do have repercussions and have a ripple effect back into our local economy. That’s where we see our role is to continue to educate lawmakers, policymakers, folks in the bureaucracy, folks in agencies across the state and federal levels, of what it really means when they make a decision,” Bentley said.
“You look at this increased Adverse Effect Wage Rate. We’re trying to educate people now; last year a 14% increase in labor rates for H-2A workers, and this year another 7%. Trying to explain that to somebody who’s never farmed on a 21% increase on labor costs in basically a 12- to 13-month period; it’s almost unsustainable. We do think we’ll see some fruit and vegetable growers that are forced out of the business because a decision was made in Washington D.C. by people that have never farmed. That’s where we see our job is to fight that fight every single day.”
Another Challenge
That presents another challenge for Bentley, convincing powers-at-be that raising labor expenses does not automatically compute to a rise in commodity prices. It may happen in other business sectors but not in agriculture.
“Other sectors of the economy, when they get increases in the wage rate, they raise the prices of their goods. Farming is just not one of those jobs where you can do that,” Bentley said. “When you’re growing a commodity, you’re at the mercy of what someone in Chicago or somewhere else says your product is worth. We can’t just increase the price of squash or cucumbers, peppers, watermelons or whatever it is we’re growing. We don’t get to increase that price.”