EDINBURG, TX - Our industry is constantly working to battle challenges posed by labor shortages, and Texas farms are hoping to push ahead in this mission. Tomorrow, Thursday, September 22, the American Business Immigration Coalition Action (ABIC Action), Texas International Produce Association (TIPA), Little Bear Produce, City of McAllen Mayor Javier Villalobos, and City of Edinburg Mayor Ramiro Garza Jr. will participate in a press event and roundtable entitled “Lower Food Prices, Keep Shelves Stocked: Common Sense Solutions to Texas’ Farm Labor Shortage.”

“Ag labor has been and remains one of the biggest issues facing our industry. There is a well-documented history going back nearly a century of domestic U.S. workers not wanting to participate in manually laborious activities around agriculture,” said Dante Galeazzi, President and Chief Executive Officer of TIPA. “As such, U.S. agriculture has depended on a seasonal foreign workforce, but the current regulatory and political landscape has made access to that workforce difficult and expensive. Coupled with inflation and rising costs, the U.S. consumer is going to see food prices go even higher. This press conference is going to demonstrate how elected officials, especially our U.S. Senators, can do something TODAY to help food prices and millions of everyday Americans by supporting fixes around ag labor.”

According to a recent release, this event is the latest in a multistate series of events with agricultural stakeholders to call attention to the urgency of fixing the nation’s farm labor shortage by passing new Senate agriculture workforce solutions.

In addition to Galeazzi, several other industry experts will take part in the press conference, including:

• Bret Erickson, Senior Vice President of Business Affairs, Little Bear Produce
• Gerry Garcia, Vice President of Special Projects and Government Affairs, McAllen Chamber of Commerce
• Mayor Javier Villalobos, City of McAllen
• Mayor Ramiro Garza, City of Edinburg
• Juan Carlos Cerda, Texas State Director and Deputy Campaign Director, ABIC - Action

The conference will begin at 10 a.m. CST, taking place at Little Bear Produce in Edinburg, Texas. A livestream will also be available here.

For more details on the ongoing labor shortage impacting Texas farms, read this recent column with insights from Galeazzi himself.