Money made available to help with ag supply chain

Agricultural employers can apply for a pilot program designed to improve the resiliency of the food and agricultural supply chain, by addressing workforce challenges farmers and ranchers face. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), in coordination with other federal agencies, is announcing up to $65 million in grants, available for the Farm Labor Stabilization and Protection Pilot (FLSP) Program.

The program will help address workforce needs in agriculture, promote a safe and healthy work environment for farmworkers, and aims to support expansion of lawful migration pathways for workers, including for workers from Northern Central America, through the Department of Labor’s seasonal H-2A visa program.

“Our country is facing growing agricul-ture workforce challenges that jeopardize our farmers’ ability to be competitive, threatens the resiliency, abundance and safety of our food system, and has repercussions on our overall economy,” said agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack. “At the same time, record numbers of people are interested in living and working in the United States, including from Northern Central America.”

This pilot program has been designed with significant input from immigration, labor and agricultural stakeholders, in an effort to help address these immediate challenges. The program will provide incentives designed to simultaneously benefit workers and employers, with the potential to inform the H-2A program, raise labor standards for farmworkers and help alleviate agricultural workforce challenges over the long-term.

Eligibility for this competitive grant program is limited to domestic agricultural employers who anticipate meeting all Department of Labor (DOL) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regulatory requirements for the H-2A program, including demonstrated effort to effectively recruit U.S.-based workers and hire all willing, able and qualified U.S. workers; and commit to, and indicate capacity to fulfill all baseline requirements, as well as any selected (supplemental) commitments that entail additive worker benefits and protections.

Eligible employers include fixed-site employers, joint-employers, agricultural associations and H-2A labor contractors.

The maximum award amount is $2,000,000 and the minimum amount is $25,000, per grant agreement (including any sub-awardees). Award amounts will be determined, based on the projected number of full-time equivalent (FTE) agricultural employees, desired award level, as well as the competitive nature of the application.

Consistent with the H-2A requirements, applicants must demonstrate insufficient availability of a U.S.-based workforce. The grant window for each recipient is 24 months, allowing producers to use the grant over the course of two agricultural production seasons.

Applications for the FLSP program must be received on, or before, Nov. 28.

More information about the application process can be found at ams.usda.gov.

“This pilot should be a win for everyone along the agricultural supply chain, from the field to the dinner table,” said Vilsack.