"The number one issue that whenever I talk to farmers has always been labor," says Tyler Wenzlaff, director of national affairs with Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation. "We're not going to be able to survive if we do not have labor needs met."

Wenzlaff explains that the traditional model of family-run operations has been upended via economic pressure or lack of interest from younger generations. This has forced the industry to look toward comprehensive federal reform as the only path forward.