NAFB – The National Pork Producers Council Thursday introduced a campaign, “Year-Round Pork Needs Year-Round Workers.” The campaign highlights the vital role of foreign-born workers across the U.S. pork industry and the need for comprehensive labor reform to address a labor shortage.

NPPC President Jen Sorensen says, “Unfortunately, current visa programs don’t provide access to enough workers to meet our labor needs on farms and in plants.” The campaign features the stories of four foreign-born workers and their employers in the U.S. pork industry. NPPC is urging Congress to address labor reform that both opens the H-2A visa program to year-round labor, without a cap, and provides legal status for agricultural workers already in the country.

NPPC says pork producers offer jobs with good pay and benefits, but most Americans do not live near hog farms or harvest facilities and rural populations continue to decline, causing the industry to be largely dependent on foreign-born workers.