Agriculture is waiting for immigration reform.

The labor shortage in agriculture continues to be a major problem

The labor shortage in agriculture continues to be a major problem and inaction by Congress has exacerbated the situation according to many in the industry. Some say that E-Verify – which is an Internet-based system that allows businesses to determine the eligibility of their employees to work in the United States is actually doing more harm than good to Agriculture. They say farmers in states where E-Verify is mandated are having difficulty obtaining workers and much of the work, including the harvesting of fruits, nuts and vegetables, is not getting done .

US Senator Claire McCaskill (D, MO) says it is one of the biggest frustrations she has, “the agricultural economy in Missouri, the people who are responsible for the important trade surplus we have in Missouri, the people who are feeding the world, the people on whom the Missouri depends on…those people need to be louder about immigration reform.”

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