Many in the Ag community say the H2A process is not helpfully meeting their needs.  Growers say the paperwork is slow and cumbersome.  That is why the Labor Department, USDA and Department of Homeland Security recently announced efforts to streamline the H2A process at the federal level.

 

Representative Dan Newhouse said process to find ag labor must be simplified.

 

“Right now, an individual farmer has to go through three different agencies, it’s a long arduous process, it take a lot of time.  We’re looking at creating essentially a portal into the federal government, where you can go to one place to fill out your application and save a lot of time, effort and make it much more efficient, so that people can get the labor they need in a much more timely fashion.”

 

Newhouse added it’s also encouraging to see the administration work to address the struggles when it comes to ag labor shortages.

 

 

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