The Herald-Palladium: America first: Rep. Walberg and Deputy Ag. secretary Vaden visit Leitz Farm
A Sodus Township farm hosted U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg and U.S. Deputy Agriculture Secretary Stephen Vaden this week as part of a Michigan farm tour.
They started in Jackson and ended the day Thursday at Leitz Farm to talk about specialty crops and the industry in this part of the state.
“Michigan’s agriculture is so diverse,” Vaden said. “The congressman just noted that all the issues we see nationwide are really present here in this one state of Michigan. So we heard about how our labor reforms, through reforming the adverse effects wage rate, has really made a difference for specialty crop operations like this.”
Adverse effect wage rates are the minimum wages paid to workers with an H-2A visa – workers from other countries temporarily employed in agriculture.
The Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act was passed in congress and signed into law this year.
According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, H-2A visa use has increased over time, and SAWA includes reforms aimed at streamlining the process and controlling unpredictable costs.
Increased H-2A visa usage comes at the same time as the Trump administration’s policies intended to reduce the presence of undocumented immigrants who have historically made up a significant portion of the workforce.
Walberg said they’re also looking into workforce stability long-term.
“... We’re also looking, as we go back next week, at things that bring H-2A programs up to speed (and) will assist farmers like these here today to make sure we have a stable workforce,” he said. “Make it more flexible, and do it in a legal way, making sure that American citizens are given first preference. But when they’re not there, we still need to put those crops in. We need to pick it, harvest it, and do it in the proper way year after year.”
Vaden said they heard continuing concerns about input costs and inflation, and how big corporations can drive up prices.
They received a tour of the multi-generational Leitz Farm, led by Fred Leitz. Between bites of locally-grown blueberries and cucumber, they talked policy.
The fertilizer market came up from a member of the group on the tour. He asked how the administration is going to address things like market control and supply as larger corporations impact pricing.
Vaden emphasized the Fertilizer Investment & Expansion for Long-Term Supply (FIELDS) program.
It’s an initiative introduced recently which is intended to support the construction and expansion of domestic fertilizer production facilities. It made $500 million available to boost those projects.
“None of that money will go to the huge incumbents,” he said. “Instead, we have some pretty good sized corporations that may have a very small share of the fertilizer market, or they have the capability to be a new market entrance, but they’re not in it currently.”
But he said he is also aware of the corporate control over existing supply, and is communicating with the department of justice and federal trade commission about it.
“There are legitimate questions about the market and whether it’s fair,” Vaden said. “… There are two companies for example, for one of our major fertilizers, that control 90 percent of the market. You don’t need to have an economics or law degree to have questions about whether or not the pricing is based on free market principles.”
On this issue, like others during the press conference, Vaden and Walberg emphasized prioritizing American goods and production.
It came up later when talking about produce. Vaden said one way to make America more healthy is to ensure that everything that is on people’s plates came from the United States.
“Because if it did, you don’t have food safety concerns,” he said. “You’re not worried about the labor conditions or any other ethical concerns that you may have. All you need to do is buy it, eat it, and enjoy it. … We’re seeking to make it easier and cheaper to produce more of what we eat here in the United States so that we can be self-sufficient.”
Internationally, Vaden said he is pushing foreign trade partners to open their markets further to American produce.
It’s a bargaining point if they want to break into other parts of the U.S. economy.
“They have to make commitments to open their markets further to American farmers, or it doesn’t matter whatever else they want in our great economy,” he said. “They’re not gonna be able to reach a trade deal in this administration.”
Walberg said one takeaway from the day is that he will encourage his colleagues in Washington to act quickly.
He said they should hop on every opportunity they can to put the U.S. back on top, with an emphasis on free market capitalism, to lead the world again.
“These farmers, men and women who have committed their lives to it, are proud about the number of generations that they’ve carried on and they want to continue doing it,” Walberg said. “They’re willing to be optimists and pessimists at the same time in order to achieve what’s necessary for their families, for their communities, for the industry and for the country, and in all proper responses for the rest of the world because we do feed the world.”