ARA Letter to President Biden Opposing Potential Vaccine Mandate

Sep 17 2021

ARA sent a letter to President Joe Biden opposing a potential vaccine mandate and employer enforcement requirement, not because we question the science of vaccine effectiveness, but because of its likely impact on already-tight employment situations for ag employers.

With proper encouragement and incentives, the agricultural community's fundamental belief in science can contribute toward increasing vaccinations. Alternatively, an employer-enforced vaccine mandate will be impossible to enforce and give rise to employee turnover that will destroy these rural companies' abilities to serve America's farmers.

"Agricultural retailers were determined by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to be critical infrastructure in the early days of the COVID pandemic because they provide essential products and services for the production of food," writes ARA President & CEO Daren Coppock in the letter.

Care should be taken to not disrupt this supply chain by sending an avoidable shock through employee ranks when it is already difficult to hire and retain quality employees."