Source: Susan Kelly, MEATINGPLACE, 7/19/19


The meat and poultry industries have the opportunity to grow and provide more quality jobs, especially if export markets improve, but the sector is suffering from a lack of access to workers needed to meet new demands, the head of the National Turkey Federation (NTF) said this week.

Most turkey plants are located in low-unemployment, rural areas, forcing producers to recruit workers from outside of their areas and in many instances rely on immigrant labor, John Zimmerman, NTF executive committee member, testified before a House agriculture subcommittee.

Current guest worker programs target only seasonal, on-farm labor and non-agricultural manufacturing, he noted. “We need workers in our plants year-round, and we stand ready to work with any and all parties to achieve a workable system. The turkey industry hopes that Washington can put rhetoric aside and find a solution,” Zimmerman said in his prepared remarks.

Without an available pool of legal, general labor immigrant workers, the meat and poultry industries will not be able to capitalize on the opportunities when the “doors of new export markets are pushed further open,” he said.

“The turkey industry supports immigration reform that includes policies and provisions that will maximize benefits to the industry and ensure a strong and durable immigration system that meets the needs of the U.S. economy,” Zimmerman said.

Earlier this month, the Canadian government launched a new immigration program aimed at addressing labor shortages in the country’s meat processing sector by providing a path for workers to become permanent residents.

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