2025 - Your Commission at Work

AGvocacy News

Over the past year, the NC Sweetpotato Commission has been hard at work on several advocacy fronts. One of the most exciting developments was joining forces with the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association to build a powerful six-state, 32-entity coalition. Together, we filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with USDA on June 9—asking for more transparency in how the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) for the H-2A program is determined and further explanation of Farm Labor Survey (FLS) usage. It took time to get here, but the effort has paid off. Not only do we have a strong filing in place, we also have an even stronger coalition standing together for agriculture.

READ THE PRESS RELEASE HERE

It’s working! Our collective voices are being heard!!

On August 29, 2025, the USDA filed a notice in the Federal Register of its intent to discontinue the Farm Labor Survey . This is a big win for producers who have felt the impact of spiraling labor rates, making U.S. employers non-competitive against foreign competition.

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