Dairy Farmers of America, Inc., (DFA) issued a statement yesterday in response to the Obama administration's recent announcement about a change in immigration policy that could allow as many as 800,000 immigrants who came to the U.S. illegally as children to legally remain in the country.

Click here to read more about the immigration announcement.

Click here to read more in Spanish.

DFA's statement, which was signed by Senior Vice President John Wilson said, “We are pleased to see the White House use administrative authority to address an important component of the immigration debate. At the same time, we cannot ignore that the agriculture sector continues to face labor shortages and deeper changes are needed.

"Dairy farmers across the country are in need of a reliable, stable and legal workforce. A 2009 study conducted by National Milk Producers Federation found that more than 40 percent of workers on U.S. dairy farms are born outside this country.

"Unlike most others in the agricultural sector, dairy producers do not have access to the H-2A guest worker program as the industry is not seasonal. Dairy farmers 'harvest' at least twice a day, 365 days of the year.

"We will continue to urge President Barack Obama and his administration to take action that addresses the labor issues dairy farmers continue to experience. A safe, legal and reliable workforce is vital to allow our nation’s dairy farmers to continue to produce the safe, nutritious dairy products consumers demand.”  PD

—From Dairy Farmers of America, Inc., news release