California Ag Network

Tag: Labor Reform

  • Common Ground Coalition Kicks off First of Four Regional Summits

    The Common Ground Coalition kicked off the first of four regional summits in Reno, gathering Western livestock perspectives to bolster the industry’s future. This event launches a nationwide effort to strengthen rural communities and secure the U.S. food supply.

    Building on momentum from the coalition’s inaugural event in April 2025, attendees engaged in candid, solution‑oriented discussions rooted in shared experiences and a commitment to action.

    Participants explored a growing set of challenges, including constrained access to land, capital, labor and effective risk management tools — particularly for young and emerging producers.

    The 33 attendees advanced a set of recommendations to help guide the next phase of the Common Ground Coalition’s work. Participants offered ideas on issues they believed the group could ultimately agree on. While differing viewpoints were represented — both at the table and in small-group discussions — items without consensus did not move forward. This approach has been foundational to the Common Ground Coalition, and these outcomes will be aligned with findings from the coalition’s remaining regional summits.

    Western Region Recommendations

    •Improve access to land by simplifying bureaucracy and developing incentives that encourage sellers and landowners to keep land in production agriculture. Protecting and restoring grazing acres, including public and deeded land, is essential for young and emerging producers and for the long-term viability of all livestock operations.

    •Advocate for capital access and financing reforms, with the goal of expanding and streamlining access to capital for livestock production.

    •Develop mentorship, succession and ownership pathways by creating models that connect established operations with young and emerging producers.

    •Add a focus on predation issues and Endangered Species Act reforms to the coalition’s foundational work, with the goal of defending producers’ right to protect private property. This includes addressing misuse of the act to restrict producers’ ability to protect livestock and homes, as well as seeking to improve transparency and collaboration from enforcing agencies.

    •Advocate for reforms to the Equal Access to Justice Act to prevent its weaponization against the industry.

    •Add a focus on reforms to the National Environmental Policy Act through policy initiatives, education, and efforts to correct misinformation in the public arena.

    •Increase adoption of risk management programs through improved education, expanded coverage and tools that support cow-calf revenue streams.

    •Continue pursuing labor program reforms and workforce development, including access to healthcare and other rural community needs, with the goals of increasing access to labor and improving long-term stability in rural communities.

    Moderator and founding coalition member Jake Parnell said the event focused on results rather than just dialogue.

    “This summit wasn’t about talk for talk’s sake,” he said. “It was about coming together, recognizing the work already happening across the industry and carrying that momentum beyond this room. By aligning these discussions with broader efforts and the outcomes of future Common Ground Coalition summits, we can turn shared priorities into action.”

    Western Region Summit Attendees

    Those participating in the summit included:

    California: Erin Borror, Joe Fischer, Pat Kirby, Bert Lefty, Deirdre Lefty, Duane Martin Jr., Jake Parnell, Rick Roberti, Debbie Wise, Geordy Wise

    Colorado: Christie Gabel, Jim Gies, Jordan Levi

    Idaho: John Dickinson, Tom Houret, Broden Matthews, Jared Patterson

    Montana: Joe Goggins, J.M. Peck, Greg Putnam, Darrell Stevenson

    Nevada: John Hays, Sam Mori, Colton Oney, Cara Small, Wade Small, Chad Turner

    Oregon: Bob Harrell, Paul Houret, Blake Knowles

    Wyoming: Jack Berger, Brad Boner, Brett Crosby

    Oregon rancher and founding member Paul Houret said the coalition’s strength lies in its ability to unite diverse perspectives under a single mission.

    “We all come at this from different angles,” he said. “But if this group can come together and be an example of collaboration for the industry — and I think we’ve already seen some success — we can start fixing some of the issues that frustrate so many people. We just have to get started.”

    To learn more or to sign on to the Common Ground Coalition, visit commongroundcoalition.net.

    — Story contributed by the Common Ground Coalition

  • Dairy Farmers Descend on Senate to Demand Agriculture Labor Reform

    Dairy farmers from National Milk Producers Federation member cooperatives and state dairy associations are visiting U.S. Senate offices today and tomorrow as part of a fly-in calling for an agricultural labor bill that could be reconciled with a plan the House approved last year, providing the stable, secure labor force U.S. dairy producers need.

     

    U.S. dairy producers face labor shortages that are more intense than those felt in agriculture as a whole because they cannot use the H-2A farmworker program, which only provides for seasonal labor rather than the year-round workers dairy needs. With domestic workers in short supply and foreign labor difficult to employ under current policies, dairy farmers are urging lawmakers to find real solutions.

     

    “The situation is dire,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF, the biggest U.S. dairy-farmer organization. “Dairy farmers face labor shortages while they are forced to navigate the deeply uncertain and volatile realities undergirding agriculture labor in the U.S. Meanwhile, uncertainty on the farm harms individuals and rural communities that rely on those farms to generate jobs.”

     

    The House of Representatives in December passed bipartisan legislation allowing for year-round visas in dairy as part of the first ag-labor bill to pass that chamber since 1986. NMPF supported the bill, noting that, although imperfect, its passage was a necessary step in moving toward a legislative solution addressing the ag labor crisis, with further work to be done in the Senate to improve upon the House measure.

     

    The fly-in is taking place after the conclusion of NMPF’s March Board of Directors meeting held in Arlington, Virginia. During the board meeting, NMPF officially expanded its membership with the addition of Cayuga Marketing, LLC based in Auburn, NY, adding an important upstate New York voice to NMPF’s work on behalf of all dairy producers. NMPF also endorsed dairy-sector sustainability efforts during its meeting, lauding industrywide plans to reduce carbon emissions to net zero.