ARLINGTON, VA. — The Meat Institute has urged the Trump administration to include the meat processing sector in its plans for the agricultural workforce around the United States.

“President Trump has an opportunity to solve the agriculture labor crisis that has challenged our farmers and ranchers for decades,” said Julie Anna Potts, president and chief executive officer for Meat Institute. “As reforms are considered, we urge the Trump administration to include meat and poultry packers and processors in his efforts to improve agriculture worker programs.”

The Meat Institute detailed how more than 850,000 hog farmers, cattle ranchers and poultry growers rely on meat packers and processors to feed families around the nation.

“Meat and poultry processors — thousands of small and large companies — keep the rural economy moving by producing the beef, pork and poultry purchased by 98% of American households,” Potts said. “These companies offer excellent pay with entry-level wages ranging from $16.00-$24.00 an hour plus benefits. Our members, together with their suppliers and others in the meat and poultry supply chain need changes to the H-2A visa program and modernization of E-Verify to ensure the processing sector has access to a consistent, year-round, legal workforce.”

In recent years, bipartisan proposals for agricultural labor reforms for packers and processors have been introduced.

During 2023, Representative G.T. Thompson (R-Pa.), chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, led a bipartisan Agricultural Labor Working Group, which was co-chaired by Representatives Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) and Donald Davis (D-NC). The group’s final report in March 2024 concluded several food industries needed access to a year-round H-2A visa program for labor.

“One thing that has become clear is the need for dairy producers, meat processors, sugar processors, forestry, ranchers and others to have access to a steady and legal workforce,” the members said in the report.

President Trump posted on June 12 on Truth Social regarding recent immigration policies and the effects on the agriculture business.

“Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace,” he said on Truth Social. “Changes are coming!”

Last week, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted an operation at the Glenn Valley Foods meat plant in Omaha, Neb., which detained 70 illegal immigrants, according to the agency.