Can you talk about the agric- Agriculture Workforce Act and what's going on with that?

Sure.

Well, Peggy, as you know, there's, there's no off and on switch on a cow[laughs] And in fact, if you've ever k- let a cow not be milked, uh, they're not happy about it.

They'll, they'll let you know that it, it's well past the time to be milked.

Um, and workforce is so important and, and something a lot of people, I think, are surprised by, the dairy industry has never had a worker visa program.

Um, it just hasn't.

And, uh, I'm not sure why that is.

... to help?

... you know, labor's a big issue 'cause dairies, we don't, we can't, we have to have year-round.

It has to be year-round, and it's, it's long days.

I mean, it's not like, uh, an eight-hour workday.

You've, you know, these cows have no off and on switch.

They, they have to be milked.

And so I only bumped into one family that pretty well had the workforce figured out.

They, uh, you know, they w- working with cousins and neighbors and, and that was great news.

They did E-Verify and it didn't work for them.

Are you getting a feel of what it's going to take to get the bill done and get it through Congress?

Yeah, momentum.

I mean, that's why being here the next couple of days, actually, I'll be tomorrow, I'll be in Missouri talking about SALA.

Saturday, I'll be in Iowa talking about SALA.

You know, we're just building that enthusiasm, that momentum.

You know, there are vehicles at the end of the year where there's a lot of bills that need to be moved.

And when you look at the status of the nation, the status of agriculture, the implications of not having workforce, people were surprised when I described to them what we're talking about with Sollight.

Dairy margin coverage enrollment begins soon.

What's your message on that front, 35 days to go until the midterms?

Well, Pete, thanks so much for having me on.

I'm really excited about coming to Missouri, spending some time with Chris.

I was able to spend a couple days with him last week on the road.

Yeah, it's challenging right now.

These diesel prices are killing us.

Just hard on our farmers.

to replace sam graves so that's happening friday uh 2 p.m i think we got him reconnected so congressman if you wouldn't mind just picking up there in terms of uh what you're hoping to do if republicans can maintain power for the ag folks

So when Congress returns in September, where does the farm bill go from here? Is there still a path to getting it across the finish line? And what will that mean for America's farmers and ranchers?

I'm confident it'll be done, um, before the end of the year.

We, uh, we put together a great farm bill because we listened to the farmers, we listened to rural communities, to the foresters, to all the key stakeholders in America's number one industry, which is agriculture.

And, uh, and it really is a great bill.

You know, it's got...

At its, at the heart of it, there's 200 bipartisan bills there.

It's just not one bill.

Where are we with getting whole milk, flavored and unflavored, in our schools?

What will workers that qualify, what will they need to do to gain access to an H-2A visa?

Well, though, obviously need to apply for it.

If someone's here working already, they're going to have to basically pass a background check.

They're going to have to show that they've worked in agriculture at least 180 days over the past two years.

Because we want folks that have that agriculture experience.

And they're going to have to check the box when they apply for the H-2A program, satisfy all the requirements.

And Chip, you touched on this.

In 2025, that was up to 400,000. if they are all going to require background checked, one-on-one, in-person interviews, is that going to be done at checkpoints? Are we geared up? Is Homeland Security and the State Department geared up to handle that?

So how are these conversations going with Chairman Jim Jordan?

Well, Chairman Jordan is a good friend of mine.

You know, we've had discussions for You know, for several months, we've had discussions with the staff.

You know, he has to do his due diligence now that this this bill has been introduced.

I'm absolutely confident that this bill will be assigned to judiciary as our jurisdiction.

We do have a couple of members of the committee that serve on the Judiciary Committee.

So we have some internal champions on that on that committee.

Can you explain the fee structure that's included in this

I mean, what does it mean to have that more year-round access for agriculture?

It's incredibly important.

Dairies, mushrooms, greenhouses, livestock, there's just so many that would have access.

And some processing, actually, the first part of processing.

Not food manufacturing, but everything prior to that.

It's a significant need, and it's also a driving cost to agriculture today.

You and I have talked a lot about all the challenges that our farmers face with increased inflation, the cost of inputs, you know, trade, you know, disruption, you know, which means you can't get inputs or you perhaps lose markets or incur tariffs right now as the Trump administration works through trade.

But as you look ahead and just the dynamics in Congress, I mean, are you confident that your colleagues, other lawmakers will see the value in this and that it will stay in as this package is developed?

Do you feel like the bill that passed the House is one that is going to support farmers?

Yeah, I do.

I have some concerns with the pesticide provision that was added.

I think it may put farmers' health at risk and certainly drive up affordability and open the door for foreign manufactured pesticides to flood into our country.

But beyond that, I thought it was absolutely a transformational bill it was the end result of traveling 43 states one territory over 160 different listening sessions this is a bill that we wrote not in washington we wrote it in pastures we wrote it in barns and and machine sheds we just you know really bring into the table the voices of american agriculture and And I'm very proud of at the end of the day what we're able to put forward.

And we're so happy to have so many people join, add their voices to the debate last week as we successfully passed with a strong bipartisan vote the Farm Food and National Security Act of 2026.

Why was it taken out of this bill and where is it headed in the future?

Well, it was never a part of the bill because it's not in the jurisdiction of the Agriculture Committee.