MADISON, Wis. — Farmers, processors, and policymakers gathered at World Dairy Expo on Oct. 2 to issue a unified call for common-sense immigration and workforce reform to stabilize U.S. agriculture and protect America’s food supply.
The press conference was organized by the American Business Immigration Coalition (ABIC), partnering with American Dairy Coalition (ADC), drawing a packed audience of producers, industry leaders, and media.
ADC Founder and CEO Laurie Fischer kicked things off and introduced special invited guest Congressman Derrick Van Orden (R-WI-3), who spoke to the issue and his recently introduced legislation. Indiana dairy producer Sam Schwoeppe spoke for ADC and America’s dairy farmers, along with additional comments from ABIC, Dairy Farmers of America (DFA), Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative, and the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA).
Fischer: “No more waiting — the time to act is now”
ADC’s Laurie Fischer issued a direct challenge to both the industry and policymakers: it’s time to act, not wait.
“We’ve been told for 20 years that reform couldn’t happen until the border was secure,” Fischer said. “Well, the border is secure. Now is the time to move something. Let me make it clear: None of us are asking for amnesty — we’re asking for legal, year-round status so our workers and our farms can thrive.”
She emphasized that the conversation around farm labor has too often been polarized, when in reality it’s a matter of food security and national stability, not politics.
“Legislators are trying hard, but they need our voices,” Fischer said. “We need to be out there helping them — reviewing the language, fixing what doesn’t work, and building coalitions that get things done.”
Fischer thanked ABIC and the event’s participating organizations for helping unite dairy producers, processors, and cooperatives around a shared message: a safe, stable, and legal workforce is the foundation of America’s food security.
Van Orden: “Without workers, our farms close — and that’s a national security risk”
Congressman Derrick Van Orden, a member of the House Agriculture Committee and former Navy SEAL senior chief, highlighted the urgency of fixing the nation’s broken ag labor system. He introduced his new legislation — the Agricultural Reform Act of 2025 (H.R. 4740) — as a pragmatic first step toward a long-term solution.
“The H-2A program is broken,” Van Orden said. “If we deported every agriculture worker today, our farms, dairies, and construction industries would collapse. We must retain our current ag workforce, or America will become dependent on foreign nations for food — and that’s unacceptable.”
He described his bill as an “80-percent solution,” designed to cut through bureaucratic gridlock by offering current, qualified agricultural workers a path to temporary legal status.
“It’s a legal, orderly process,” he explained, saying it is as easy as pushing a button on an app and that employers would have a year to rotate workers out of the country and then back in.
“Those eligible workers would enter a protected status, pay a fine, and re-enter the country lawfully. Employers would share accountability, and the system would finally make sense. This is not amnesty — it’s restoring law and order while protecting our nation’s food supply,” he said, adding that it pertains to workers who have been here for years, not those who came in during the previous administration.
Van Orden framed the issue as one of national security, noting that once dairy and food production are lost, “they don’t come back.”
“It’s cost-prohibitive to start a new dairy today,” he said. “When we lose them, they’re gone for good. This isn’t just an ag issue — it’s about whether America can feed itself.”
Schwoeppe: “A safe, secure, and stable workforce protects farms, families, and our food supply”
Indiana dairy farmer Sam Schwoeppe, speaking on behalf of ADC, brought a grassroots producer’s voice to the discussion. She said dairy farmers are facing a crisis that threatens both livelihoods and communities — one that can only be addressed through legal, year-round workforce reform.
“You can’t say you’re pro-farmer or pro-America if you’re not willing to fix this,” Schwoeppe said. “Dairy is a 365-day-a-year industry. Our employees are skilled, dedicated, and essential. Without a legal year-round workforce, we cannot feed our country.”
She went on to describe the deeper human dimension of the issue — the dignity and vulnerability of the workers who are already essential on farms and in the processing sector.
“Many of these foreign-born employees have already proven their skills in cow care and herd management,” Schwoeppe said. “But because they lack legal status, they remain vulnerable. A functional system would make them part of a safe, secure, and stable workforce — and that protects not only them, but also our farms, our families, and our food security.”
Schwoeppe added that reform should be guided by balance, using an analogy.
“Immigration is like rainfall,” she said. “Too much is a flood, too little is a drought — and right now, we’re in a drought. Rural America can’t survive without balance. This is a solvable problem, and it’s urgent.”
A united call for action
Together, Fischer, Schwoeppe, and Van Orden delivered a clear, consistent message: America’s food system depends on legal workforce solutions that reflect the year-round, not seasonal, nature of dairy production.
Representatives from DFA, Edge Cooperative, and IDFA echoed their points, noting that more than $11 billion in new dairy manufacturing investments over the next three years are at risk without reliable labor.
“We can’t be silent anymore,” Schwoeppe told reporters. “This isn’t about politics — it’s about people, farms, and food security.”
The event closed with a bipartisan call for Congress and the administration to act swiftly on year-round agricultural visa reform, ensuring that America’s farmers, processors, and essential workers can continue feeding the nation.
