Immigrant labor in rural Midwest is on the decline: study

A declining flow of immigrants into the U.S. and aging population of immigrants already in the country is exacerbating challenges in the pork industry’s labor market, according to a study conducted by Iowa State University. The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) commissioned the study, which it is using to support the organization’s argument for immigration reform that will provide them a larger labor pool.But the study states that immigration policy is only one of many factors that are changing the landscape in the rural Midwest, particularly in the hog industry.