Changes in legislation can have an effect on how you handle your operation down the line.

The agriculture industry has been asking for changes to current immigration legislation. The current legislation is not supportive of all faucets of the ag industry. Currently, visas for ag workers can only be issued for 10 months at a time, and many farmers need workers all year.

Immigration reform is among the top three issues President Obama has pushed to the top of his agenda. The other two matters are the Farm Bill and the federal budget. Desired reform would grant legal status to farm workers who have worked in the farming industry for at least two years and plan to continue working in this industry for at least five additional years.

The last change to the farm worker program came in 1986 when the H2A visa program was introduced. This work visa is a 10-month program for farm workers. One of the issues with this program is the amount of time is takes to complete all of the paperwork for the visa. Harvest could be finishing up by the time everything is completed, submitted and approved.

New legislation could help growers hire labor legally, and at the same time provide better protection for workers.