For the men and women who grow America’s fruits, vegetables, and nursery crops, few challenges have proven as persistent or as threatening as finding and keeping a reliable workforce. This week, that long-standing struggle moved back into the national spotlight as the Ag Wage Reform Coalition announced its support for newly introduced legislation that supporters say could reshape the future of labor-intensive agriculture in the United States.
On June 12, 2026, in Washington, D.C., the coalition threw its weight behind the Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act, known as SAWA, introduced by House Agriculture Committee Chairman G.T. Thompson. The bill is aimed squarely at modernizing the nation’s agricultural workforce system, an area many growers feel has been stuck in place for far too long while the realities of farming have continued to change.
The coalition itself is no small voice. Representing 36 organizations across 9 states, spanning more than 25 agricultural commodities and over a trillion dollars in annual economic impact, the group brings together national associations, state advocacy organizations, and grassroots grower groups. What unites them is a shared concern that without meaningful reform, the people who put food on America’s tables may find it increasingly difficult to keep doing so.
The frustrations are familiar to anyone who has spent time on a working farm. For years, producers have wrestled with escalating labor costs, persistent workforce shortages, administrative delays, and a growing sense of uncertainty surrounding the H-2A program. Each of those pressures chips away at the bottom line and, more importantly, at a grower’s ability to plan for the seasons and years ahead. SAWA, its backers argue, offers practical answers to those everyday struggles.
Chris Butts, the coalition’s spokesperson and executive director of the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association, described the legislation as one of the most comprehensive efforts in decades to address agricultural workforce policy. He noted that the bill reflects many of the recommendations developed through extensive conversations with stakeholders and speaks directly to the real-world challenges specialty crop producers face day in and day out.
The bill includes a number of provisions that growers have sought for years. Among them is expanded access to a broader workforce, designed to meet the year-round needs of modern operations that no longer fit neatly into the old seasonal cycles. The legislation also calls for streamlined application, certification, and hiring processes to cut down on the bureaucratic delays that have long frustrated farm employers. A single online portal would simplify the back-and-forth between employers and federal agencies, while multi-year labor certifications and housing inspections would ease the heavy administrative burden that smaller operations in particular tend to feel most.
Wage reform sits at the heart of the proposal. The coalition emphasized that the bill aims to bring greater predictability and stability to farm wages while continuing to protect the workers themselves, a balance that recognizes both the grower’s need to plan and the worker’s right to fair treatment. The legislation also seeks to clarify agricultural labor eligibility so that the rules better reflect the diversity of today’s farming operations.
Behind the policy language lies a deeper concern about the future of American food production. The coalition warned that workforce challenges remain among the greatest threats to domestic specialty crop production. Left unaddressed, rising labor costs, ongoing shortages, and regulatory uncertainty could push more production overseas, increase the nation’s reliance on imported food, and place added strain on family farms and the rural communities that depend on them.
Michelle Grainger, executive director of the North Carolina Sweetpotato Commission, put the stakes plainly. She pointed out that America’s growers are competing in a global marketplace while producing food under some of the highest labor, environmental, and food safety standards in the world. A stable and predictable workforce system, she said, is essential to maintaining domestic food production, preserving rural jobs, and strengthening the nation’s food security.
The coalition also noted that many of the provisions in SAWA align closely with recommendations previously advanced through the Agricultural Labor Working Group, a sign of the broad and bipartisan stakeholder support that has gathered around the idea of modernizing the system. As Congress begins its consideration of the bill, the coalition is encouraging lawmakers from both sides of the aisle to set aside differences and work toward practical solutions.
For the farm families watching from their fields and packing houses, the message is a hopeful one. At its core, this legislation is about more than wages and paperwork. It is about giving growers the stability they need to keep doing honest work, to care for the people who labor alongside them, and to hold onto the dream of passing a healthy, thriving farm down to the next generation.
Readers can find additional background, data, and policy resources at agwagereform.com.