I would like to thank Sen. Olympia Snowe for her strong support of the “Ag Jobs” bill which would reform the broken agricultural immigrant labor program. Maine dairy farmers like me, as well as fruit and vegetable crop producers, have come to increasingly rely on immigrant labor in order to fulfill the shortfall in the availability of local help. Ask any Maine farmer, and they will tell you how difficult it is to find dependable help.

Maine dairy farmers need a full-time labor force they can depend upon, and agriculture needs seasonal workers during peak harvesting periods for fruit and vegetable crops. The Ag Jobs bill which Snowe has co-sponsored accomplishes both of these goals. It fixes what is called the H2-A program which would allow seasonal immigrant workers to be available on a timely basis.

Secondly, it provides for a longer-term solution by allowing a one-time adjustment of legal status for immigrant workers who work in the farm sector for a period of at least three to six years.

In the case of dairy farmers like me, it means they can train and then retain good immigrant workers and not have to worry about their legal status.

Harold Larrabee

Aghaloma Farm

Knox