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March 26, 2009

McHugh fights for farmers' workforce changes

By JOE LoTEMPLIO

PLATTSBURGH — North Country Congressman John McHugh is introducing legislation that will help dairy farmers secure workers they need to help their farms remain viable.

McHugh (R-Pierrepont Manor) and Congressman Michael A. Arcuri (D-Utica) are introducing the Dairy and Sheep H-2A Visa Enhancement Act, which would provide dairy farmers with access to the H-2A visa program and could codify the long-standing practices that allow sheepherders success.

"As a lifelong resident of northern New York, I know how critical our dairy farms and families are to our economy and the fabric of our local communities," McHugh said in a news release.

"My congressional district has approximately 2,000 dairy farms, and these farmers have repeatedly told me that their livelihood is threatened by the inability to access a stable, legal workforce."

The bill McHugh and Arcuri are pushing would allow workers on dairy farms and sheep ranches to obtain an initial three-year visa, which could be extended for additional three-year periods without requiring intervening periods of absence.

Currently, dairy farms are unable to access the H-2A program due to its "temporary or seasonal in nature" employment requirements.

E-mail Joe LoTemplio at: jlotemplio@pressrepublican.com

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