ag workers

Oregon OSHA recently announced new permanent rules the agency say swill protect workers during extreme heat and smoke events. Ira Cuello-Martinez with PCUN, a farm worker union, is pleased to see new guidelines for things like water and shade access ...

Ag Labor remains one of the chief concerns for the farming community, not only due to increasing costs, but limited availability in 2022. Dan Newhouse, chair of Western Caucus said unfortunately, the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, which has already cleared the House is stalled in the Senate ...

The National Council of Agricultural Employers will hold a webinar this week that focuses on the impacts of heat stress on farmworkers.  “Mitigating Heat Stress and Increasing Productivity” is scheduled Thursday April 28th at 10 a.m. PDT/11 a.m. M ...

In today's Focus on Fruit, Jon DeVaney, Executive Director of the Washington state Tree Fruit Association talks about the latest efforts to reform the H-2A program. If you have a story idea for the PNW Ag Network, call (509) 547-1618, or e-mail gvaagen@cherrycreekmedia... Read More ...

Wheat prices are higher year-over-year, but despite that increase these are trying times for growers. “We have a price volatility factor going on right now because of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and on top of that, we have inputs that are going through the roof, such as our fertilizer and fuel which has nearly doubled or tripped," said Michelle Hennings is Executive Director of the Washingto

In an effort to showcase the diverse group of people involved in the statewide wine industry, the Washington State Wine Commission has launched a new program called Breaking Ground. The bilingual ambassador program follows 14 Washington-based farmers, with each one submitting a single story that'll be published on-line each month now through November, on the Commission's Website ...

The vaccine mandate for H-2A foreign guest workers went into effect January 22nd but will it make getting workers more difficult this year? Dan Fazio, director of the Washington Farm Labor Association, says the system they put into place last year should keep everything running smoothly ...

A group of a dozen lawmakers, many of whom come from the Pacific Northwest, are calling on the Department of Homeland Security to reverse its decision when it comes to travel to the United States. The Department recently announced that those traveling to the U ...

A coalition of more than 60 agriculture groups led by the American Farm Bureau Federation is asking that agricultural workers be exempted from travel restrictions from South Africa. In a letter to the Biden administration, the coalition says, “While protecting our nation from new variants of COVID-19 is critically important, it is in our national interest to ensure production of food, fuel and fi

Thanks to a variety of efforts, the H-2A farmworker community has reported a high rate of COVID-19 vaccinations. Dan Fazio, CEO of WAFLA, the Washington Farm Labor Association, said Medical Teams International has been working on issuing vaccinations along with local health jurisdictions and farmworker clinics ...