GFB News Magazine
GFB voices farm concerns on trip to D.C.
by Jay Stone
Posted on May 27, 2025 11:07 AM
Georgia Farm Bureau members visited Washington, D.C, March 11-13, meeting with Georgia’s congressional delegation to share concerns about ag labor, the farm bill and disaster assistance. AFBF Senior Director for Government Affairs Dave Salmonsen provided a briefing of the tariff situation at that time, which continues to evolve.
GFB members went to the offices of eight of Georgia’s 14 districts and both senators. The group also heard from the European Union Delegation to the U.S.
County Farm Bureau leaders visiting D.C. in March enjoy the view atop the American Farm Bureau office. / Photo by Jay Stone
Farm labor costs out of control
During their legislative meetings, the GFB group emphasized the onerous farm labor costs under the U.S. Department of Labor’s Adverse Effective Wage Rate (AEWR). From 2024 to 2025 the AEWR increased by 9.5% in Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina, trailing only Florida (9.9%) in terms of percentage increase. For 2025, Georgia’s AEWR is $16.08 an hour.
Lowndes County tobacco grower Fred Wetherington noted that administrative and logistical expenses increased the cost of foreign laborers by more than $3 per hour.
“It's way out of control and it makes no sense,” said Wetherington.
Still, he came away encouraged that congressional staff acknowledged the problems that come with using the H-2A agricultural labor visa program.
“I feel like folks I've talked to on this trip, on both sides of the aisle, recognize the program is broken,” Wetherington said.
While briefing the GFB group about farm labor, AFBF Associate Economist Samantha Ayoub said lack of labor could force the U.S. to import more food.
“We simply don't have the people to produce it here in the U.S., and if we're going to start reducing immigration, even in these legal pathways for guest workers, we're going to have to import more.”
She noted that only 28% of rural Americans are of “prime” working age, (35 to 55 years old), while 20% of rural Americans are at least 65 years old. About 45% of U.S. farm laborers are foreign born with either no or questionable work authorization documentation.
Ayoub said the tendency to sue to settle disputes is an underacknowledged aspect of the immigration discussion.
“We get called out in agriculture for having undocumented workers, but we don't tell that other side of the story - the U.S. litigation culture. There’s employer liability that goes along with questioning documents.”
The number of H-2A positions certified has grown ten-fold over the past 20 years, from around 40,000 in 2005 to 384,900 in 2024.
Rep. Austin Scott, far right, (R-GA 8th Dist.) listens to concerns from GFB farmer members. Photo by Jay Stone
Farm bill overview
AFBF Director for Government Affairs Joe Gilson reviewed Capitol Hill movement on the farm bill, which was extended to Sept. 30 under the American Relief Act of 2025 passed in December.
Farm bill spending in 2025 is expected to top $1.4 trillion, 79% of which is allocated to nutrition programs. A total of 18%, or $265.5 billion, is expected for crop insurance, commodity programs and conservation programs.
The extension, Gilson said, does not include funding for so-called “orphan” programs like the feral swine eradication program and approximately $100 million for agricultural research.
Gilson also noted that net farm income from 2022 to 2024 is forecast to increase for cattle and calves, poultry, specialty crops and dairy according to the Farm Bureau calculations using USDA Economic Research Service data, but net farm income is expected to decrease for producers of cotton, hogs, corn, wheat and soybeans.
The GFB group told the legislators and staff they met with that Congress needs to pass a 2025 farm bill that boosts commodity prices.
GFB members visit with Rep. Buddy Carter, center, (R-GA 1st Dist), in his office. / Photo by Ken Murphree
Georgia farmers briefed on EU agriculture
Staff with the European Union (EU) Delegation to the U.S. briefed the GFB group on trade between the EU and U.S.
The EU consists of 27 nations on the European continent and Ireland.
“You have about 350 million people in the U.S. We have 450 million. We have considerably less land, so the demand is higher,” EU Delegation Agriculture Counselor Dr. Silke Boger said. “The population density is higher. Everything takes place in much less space and that has an impact on what you do, how you regulate and how you need to regulate, what you can do on land and how you can use it.”
While the U.S. has about 1.5 million farms, the EU has more than 9 million. The average U.S. farm has 460 acres, compared to 43 acres per farm in the EU. U.S. farms are generally more diversified, while many EU farms produce specialized crops.
The total value of U.S. farm production in 2023 was $521 billion, compared with the EU’s $581 billion. The per-acre production value on U.S. farms in 2020 was about $587; in the EU it was $1,463 per acre, Boger said.
The EU and U.S. are each other’s largest trade and investment partners. Boger noted that in 2023, the two entities swapped $1.7 trillion worth of goods, services and investments – an average of $4 billion per day.
Boger said trade activity between the EU and Georgia supports about 180,000 jobs in the state. Peanuts are Georgia’s top agricultural export to the EU.
The top ag product the U.S. exports to the EU is soybeans, followed by tropical fruit/nuts and spirits. Of EU exports to the U.S., about one-fifth is wine, followed by spirits, beer, water and mineral water.
Boger said EU Commissioner for Agriculture & Food Cristophe Hansen, who took office Dec. 1, 2024, is tasked with establishing a new vision for agriculture and food on the continent, with the goal of ensuring EU farmers can earn equitable income for their production while improving the EU’s food sovereignty.