California Farm Bureau is urging members to take action and oppose AB 2646 by Assemblymember Maggy Krell (Sacramento-D), a bill that would significantly increase labor costs on farms that rely on the H-2A program for critical workforce support.
Last year, federal changes provided much-needed relief to help California farmers and ranchers remain competitive and continue offering jobs and hours. AB 2646 would reverse that progress by imposing roughly a 14 percent increase to the agricultural wage floor in a single year, along with automatic annual increases moving forward.
The bill would impact an estimated 70,000 to 75,000 agricultural workers and create significant confusion and pressure across the broader agricultural workforce. At a time when farmers and ranchers are already facing rising labor, regulatory, and production costs, AB 2646 threatens to increase food production costs and place additional strain on family farming operations.
We have another opportunity to stop this bill, but lawmakers need to hear directly from California farmers and ranchers. Message your legislators and urge them to oppose AB 2646.
— California Farm Bureau Federation