h-2a

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 ...

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 ...

Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough ruled against the Democrats’ plan to provide eight million green cards as a part of their $3.5 trillion spending bill. According to The Hill, that decision makes getting immigration reform to President Biden’s desk much harder. The Ameri ...

As lawmakers continue deliberation how to best address issues associated with farm labor and availability. "I'm here today simply to advocate on behalf of American agriculture and these workers, maintain that the capacity of this great food and agriculture industry that can either provide the benefits that we all enjoy in this country, and at the same time provide respect and dignity to farm

Ag labor is the top issue for many agricultural operations across the Pacific Northwest, but many in the farming community feel lawmakers in D.C. continue to kick the problem down the road. While fruits and vegetables typically come to mind when talking about Ag labor, Rick Naerebout, CEO of the Idaho Dairyman’s Association says their industry is also extremely dependent on farm workers. Des ...

American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duval says the demand from the national organization and state farm bureaus’ that the Biden Administration secure the southern border is not a precondition for backing migrant farm labor reform, despite others say it should be. Duv ...

Last week, the National Milk Producers Federation expressed their pleasure with an amendment to the Homeland Security Appropriations bill, proposed by representatives Dan Newhouse and Henry Cuellar that will allow the dairy industry to participate in the H-2A program ...

On Tuesday, central Washington’s Dan Newhouse and Henry Cuellar from south Texas introduced the 2022 Homeland Security Appropriations Act. The legislation, approved by the House Committee on Appropriations would allow the H-2A program to be used year-round in Fiscal Year 2022. All ...

Saying “better late than never”, the Washington Farm Bureau and the Washington Farm Labor Association are breathing a sigh of relief, after Governor Jay Inslee, the State Department of Labor and the Health Department revised emergency housing rules for farmworkers. WAFLA Exe ...

On Wednesday, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed into law a bill that established overtime for the Ag community. The new law will step the hours per week need to trigger overtime until it hits 40 hours in early 2024. Colfax Republican Joe Schmick said for him, that Ag overtime legislation was the biggest win for the farming community during the virtual session ...