h-2a

On Monday, USDA’s Economic Research Service reported data that shows the H-2A seasonal worker program has expanded over time.   U.S. agricultural employers who anticipate a shortage of U.S. domestic workers can fill seasonal farm jobs with temporary foreign workers through the H-2A visa program.  The Depa...

Dan Newhouse says he's frustrated over the lack of movement on the Farm Workforce Modernization Act.  The legislation cleared the House of Representatives in March 2021 and since then has been in a holding pattern in the Senate.  The central Washington Republican said time is running out. "Ther...

Labor remains a top concern for the tree fruit industry.  The American Fruit Growers held its annual State of the Industry survey, and on the farm labor was a big topic in the survey, and one-third of the respondents say it’s not an issue for them, at least not yet.  For the remai...

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 ...

Several Northwest lawmakers are calling on Homeland Security for an exemption when it comes to COVID vaccination requirements. Earlier this year, the Department of Homeland Security announced essential personnel crossing into the U.S. via land border show proof of a CDC-approved COVID-19 vaccination ...

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 group of lawmakers have sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security, opposing the Department’s final rule when  it comes travel restrictions into the U.S. The 12 lawmakers, led by Dan Newhouse, chair of the Western Congressional Caucus, told DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas that the rule could have serious ramifications the farming industry, the nation’s food supply as well as rural ec

During the upcoming session, lawmakers in Salem will look at altering overtime exemptions for agricultural workers. If approved, it would require overtime pay for all farm workers once they’ve crossed 40 hours in a week. The farming community is expressing fear of what this could do to the ag economy and the state’s overall economy. Devon Wel ...

Recently, Dan Fazio Executive Director of the Washington Farm Labor Association, better known as WAFLA, wrote an Op-Ed piece that ran in the Seattle Times stating that roughly 95% of foreign farmworkers were vaccinated this year and that no one had died from COVID-19 ...

During their annual meeting in September, members of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, better known as NASDA, voted to promote reforming the Ag workforce. The vote, according to the organization, was an effort to adjust the H-2A and H-2B visa programs to fit with the changing times in farming ...