There are more than 90,000 workers in the United States who handle the breeding and care of animals on farms, ranches, feedlots, and animal confinement facilities, and one out of every five of those workers is a foreign national
There are more than 90,000 workers in the United States who handle the breeding and care of animals. Their work takes place on farms, ranches, feedlots, and animal confinement facilities. One out of every five of these workers is a foreign national.
«Employers in the meat and dairy industries rely on the H-2A and H-2B visa programs to fill jobs they cannot cover with U.S. workers.» That is what Andrew Lim, director of AIC, said in a statement.
«As workers reach retirement age and leave the workforce, the meat and dairy industries will find increasing difficulties in finding enough workers,» he added.
Source: Gómez, W. (2022, July 23). Immigrant workers ‘vital’ for food production. Enlace Latino NC. https://enlacelatinonc.org/trabajadores-inmigrantes-vital-para-la-produccion-de-alimentos/
Salary increase
The AIC study found that over the past three years, the average wage offered to workers in the meat and dairy processing industries has risen by 33.7 %. The wage increased from $14.95 per hour to $20 per hour. Metropolitan areas with the highest demand for workers in those industries include Houston, San Antonio, and Austin in Texas, as well as Omaha in Nebraska, and Los Angeles in California. States that have seen the highest number of job postings in these two industries include Texas, California, Iowa, and North Carolina.Temporary visa immigrant workers
During the 2021 fiscal year, meat and dairy sector companies requested a total of 34,245 workers through temporary H-2A and H-2B visas, and the Department of Labor certified 32,081 of those workers, AIC added. More than 93.8 % of those certified workers work in the meat processing industry in tasks ranging from livestock care to the maintenance of machinery and farm buildings. If the United States is to stabilize its workforce and food prices, the expansion of temporary visa programs must be considered, Lim indicated. Likewise, other long-term reforms for employment-based immigration should be applied, he added. This includes a path to citizenship for millions of undocumented agricultural workers in order to meet the labor needs of the meat and dairy industries, and the agricultural sector in general, Lim added.Source: Gómez, W. (2022, July 23). Immigrant workers ‘vital’ for food production. Enlace Latino NC. https://enlacelatinonc.org/trabajadores-inmigrantes-vital-para-la-produccion-de-alimentos/
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