SAWA draws 60 co-sponsors as 2026 farm bill waits for Senate

Just over 400,000 H-2A positions were advertised last year, but fewer than 200 Americans applied, figures House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson cited at an American Dairy Coalition panel during this month’s World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisconsin.

Thompson said: “We’ve been struggling for a long time in terms of workforce. The dairy industry has never had a visa program designed for it.”

Those totals need context. Thompson cited 11,000 advertised positions in 1995, when the agricultural workforce was mostly domestic, but no common methodology or reporting basis is provided for comparing that year with last year. He also said H-2A employers must advertise for Americans and hire anyone who applies; farmers have said the program prevented bankruptcy by rounding out crews.

The temporary visa dates to the Reagan administration and is seasonal, a mismatch for dairies that need help throughout the year. Labor surfaced as the leading farm-bill issue during Thompson’s travel four years ago; he tied worker shortages to food, economic and national security.

He formed a bipartisan task force with 16 members, eight Republicans and eight Democrats, and two co-chairs. Producers and processors from different commodities testified; the group ranked its recommendations, which Thompson said laid the foundation for H.R. 9535, the Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act, or SAWA.

SAWA would modernize the non-amnesty, non-immigrant H-2A program, extend it to year-round operations such as dairy and include some commodity processing. It has 60 congressional co-sponsors and endorsements from more than 600 organizations.

The bill would:

• Set entry-level and experienced H-2A wages using state occupational wage data.
• Codify the Adverse Effect Wage Rate rule enacted by the Trump administration in 2025, which changes baseline hourly wages.
• Set employer requirements and costs for housing, transportation, workers’ compensation, recruitment, certification and administration.
• Create an online one-stop shop for interaction with participating agencies.

Thompson predicted the measure could clean up agriculture within a couple of years and said the sector could become the only U.S. industry without workers in illegal status. No workforce count accompanies that forecast.

Thompson said SAWA dovetails with President Trump’s immigration policy. Under the bill, someone with at least 180 days of agricultural work during the prior two years and a robust criminal background check could apply for an H-2A visa to stay 350 days.

The visa could renew for up to two additional years before the worker leaves the country for at least 60 days to reapply, and producers could stagger departures. Thompson said industry helped design that continuity to avoid disrupting food security.

What does SAWA change for dairy margins?

SAWA’s forecast effect centers on labor availability and operating cost. Thompson’s outline includes no milk-price or basis formula. Year-round access could keep experienced workers with dairy herds; the cost base would include wages plus housing, transportation, workers’ compensation, recruitment, certification and administration.

Indiana dairy producer Sam Schwoeppe said employees may know the cows nearly as well as the owner. “Tell them what losing this person will mean to your animals and your business and your family and your community,” she said.

She invoked an ethic of care and called the workforce problem solvable. His outline offered no wage bill, dairy-margin estimate or basis calculation, so producers cannot yet quantify whether continuity gains will exceed the new costs.

The Senate’s remaining 80%

Thompson said the House sent the Senate a farm bill representing about 80% of the package. About 20% was contained in H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which President Trump signed in July 2025.

Thompson described H.R. 1 as a historic investment in family farms, animal health, agricultural research and agricultural education, with implementation only now beginning. H.R. 7567, the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026, passed the House in April and awaits the Senate.

He expects 100% agreement on every title except nutrition, arguing that the rest of the package was shaped in barnyards, forestry operations, cotton gins and other production settings through 160 listening sessions in 44 states. After the November election, he expects cooler heads to prevail on the political impasse.

Congress returns after the November election, and many bills must move in the lame-duck session. Thompson urged producers to contact House and Senate members while they are home on recess. With few members representing agricultural districts, he argued food insecurity gives every lawmaker a constituency reason to engage.

Schwoeppe urged producers to do more than tell Congress they support SAWA, calling for specific accounts of workers and the consequences of losing them. Whether the Senate advances the farm bill and the House clears the workforce measure before year-end will determine whether those promises become operating rules or remain campaign expectations.