Progress in Washington is often measured in increments, one step at a time. But in the past month, dairy took two steps forward on ag labor: A clarification from the Trump administration regarding H-2A visas as they apply to dairy, followed by House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “G.T.” Thompson’s introduction of comprehensive agricultural labor reform legislation, the Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act.
For decades, dairy farmers have operated within a fundamental contradiction: Their labor needs are an everyday of the year constant, yet Congress designed the H‑2A visa program for seasonal agriculture. That mismatch has left dairy farmers effectively shut out of the nation’s primary legal agricultural guestworker system.
The recent clarification from the Department of Homeland Security on H-2A eligibility for dairy, supported by USDA and the Department of Labor, attempts to ease that tension. By directing visa petition adjudicators to consider dairy applications on a case-by-case basis and recognizing legitimate seasonal spikes, such as during calving or feed harvest, it attempts to expand the program’s accessibility for dairy operations. It also corrects a longstanding rigidity in how applications were evaluated, in which year-round production was often treated as automatic disqualification.
The change’s practical effects are limited by the scope of H-2A itself, for which eligibility still hinges on work being temporary or seasonal. For most dairy farms, where labor demand is continuous and predictable, that requirement continues to pose a significant barrier. While some producers could benefit, the clarification is unlikely to fundamentally reshape dairy’s access to a legal workforce. That said, the announcement was still welcome recognition from this administration of dairy’s labor challenges.
Those challenges underscore why Chairman Thompson’s Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act is so consequential. The bipartisan bill, unveiled June 30, represents the most meaningful step in years toward fixing a broken farm workforce system, offering structural and legal reform dairy has long needed.
At its core, the bill would address the structural flaw that has hampered dairy for decades. By redefining “temporary” work based on the duration of an employment contract, allowing contracts of up to 350 days regardless of whether the work itself is year-round, it would align federal labor policy with modern agriculture’s operational reality. For dairy, that shift is potentially transformative.
Instead of limiting farms to a seasonal framework, Thompson’s proposal would allow them to access H‑2A legally and predictably by structuring employment contracts appropriately. In doing so, it opens the program to operations that have long been excluded, not because they lacked need, but because the law failed to reflect how they operate.
The bill goes further. It seeks to streamline the application process, reduce administrative burdens, and address cost concerns that have deterred employers from using H‑2A even when eligible. These aren’t incremental adjustments; they are reforms designed to be inclusive of vital labor needs on the dairy farm.
Perhaps the most important provision of the bill for dairy, beyond providing dairy access to an improved H-2A, is the targeted waiver of the bar of admission on past unlawful presence, providing the current dairy workforce a means to transition to a workable, agriculture visa program. While it may face scrutiny from some lawmakers, this provision shows Chairman Thompson’s understands what a major workforce disruption would do to the food supply chain as dairy farms transition to H-2A.
Just as important is the legislation’s broader purpose: to modernize a farm labor framework that’s remained largely unchanged since 1986. For dairy producers, workforce stability is not optional. It underpins animal care, milk quality, and overall farm viability. By creating a more flexible and reliable visa program, Thompson’s bill moves the industry closer to that stability in a way that we’ve not seen in decades.
The administration’s H-2A clarification demonstrates an appreciation that the current visa program does not work for dairy. Chairman Thompson’s legislation takes it further by fixing the underlying structural problems with H-2A. Ultimately, the path to a secure, stable dairy workforce runs through Congress. Meaningful, lasting change requires rewriting existing law. That is precisely what Chairman Thompson’s proposal aims to do.
For dairy farmers navigating tight margins, rising costs, and global competition, seeing that progress is more than policy: It’s the foundation for dairy’s workforce and economic sustainability in the years ahead.
Now the duty falls to the dairy industry and our friends across the agriculture sector to do all we can to see the Strengthening Agriculture’s Workforce Act through. NMPF has prepared a call to action that allows dairy farmers and their advocates to contact their House member and ask for support. That’s a step you can take toward ag-labor reform, building on the two steps taken in Washington in recent weeks.
And there will need to be more. Beyond building strong support from House lawmakers, the Senate will need a companion bill to get legislation to the president’s desk. Many steps lie ahead — but the path is clear. NMPF stands ready to lead the charge, alongside our members and the broader industry, to build the momentum needed for success.
