VIRGINIA – Farmers say they have major cost concerns about bills moving through Virginia’s General Assembly.
One would raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, and the other would exclude agriculture from being exempt like previous legislation.
Robert Mills Jr. of Briar View Farms in Pittsylvania County produces hundreds of cows, poultry, 18,000 bushels of wheat and a lot more crops.
He said the proposed wage increase will put a strain on an industry that’s already struggling through inflation and other challenges.
“The flooding that we’ve had, the droughts that we had, and then we have the uncontrollable parts of expenses of our operation and not to mention the government mandates that we have to follow to be farmers,” Mills Jr. said.
Mills Jr. employs around a dozen people, and most are H-2A, meaning workers temporarily here from other countries.
“We’re already paying $15.81 an hour now if the minimum wage goes up, and it goes into the formulation, that will put our workers at over $20 an hour,” Mills Jr. said. “It’s going to change the way that we are going to have to manage our operation.”
Some may not survive the change, Virginia Cattlemen’s Association Executive Director Brandon Reeves said.
“As nice as increases in minimum wage sound, the unfortunate reality is it will drive more of our farmers and ranchers out of business. Especially small family farms that are so integral to our local communities. Until the farmer’s share of retail value is restored to a fair, workable percentage, any increased expenses and mandated regulations will do more harm than good.”
“We’re competing against a global market that wage rate hours are much less than ours already now,” Mills Jr. said. “What it does is it puts us at an economic disadvantage.”