H2-A

In a last-minute effort to get H-2A reform finished before Congress adjourns, lawmakers have introduced a new bill.  Colorado senator Michael Bennet, and central Washington representative Dan Newhouse, introduced the Affordable and Secure Food Act Thursday.  Th...

Labor demands continue to tax the bottom lines of farmers and ranchers, with rising wage rates and record usage of the H-2A visa program.  The American Farm Bureau Federation said meaningful reforms to the federal government's guest worker program must be a priority for Congress by the end of the year.  AFBF an...

Last week, WAFLA announced it is working with Stanford University to research the economic and social outcomes for farmworkers who migrate from Mexico.  In this pilot project, Stanford researchers will speak with and compare the experiences of farmworkers who remain in Mexico and those who participate in the H-2A program via WAFLA.  Scott D...

According to ERS, American farmers who want to hire temporary foreign workers through the H-2A visa program usually work with a third party.  The new data announced this week indicated the third parties, such as agents, associations or a lawyer, are used to make the applications.  Employe...

Earlier this month, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a civil rights lawsuit against Sunnyside-based Ostrom Mushroom Farm, claiming discrimination against female workers.  Ferguson claimed that Ostrom fired 79% of their female pickers, replacing them with H2-A male pickers.  The AG’...

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 ...

The American Farm Bureau Federation recently joined all 50 state Farm Bureaus and Puerto Rico Farm Bureau in sending a letter urging the Biden administration to address the surge of undocumented immigrants entering the United States. The letter went to Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland as well as Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas ...

A federal court in California issued a preliminary injunction against the Labor Department’s decision to freeze farm workers’ wages for those that use the H-2A Program. Fruit and Nut Grower News said the freeze would effectively lower the wages of several hundred thousand guest farm workers employed in the United States. A prelimi ...

NASS intends to reinstate the Agricultural Labor Survey, after suspending it on September 30th. NASS will mail the questionnaires and collect data immediately for the survey period that was originally scheduled for October of 2020. The report will be published on February 11th and will include data for the July and October 2020 reference dates ...

Mark Powers with the Northwest Horticultural Council says many of the Ag labor concerns the farming community was addressing before the pandemic will return in 2021. If you have a story idea for the PNW Ag Network, call (509) 547-1618, or e-mail gvaagen@cherrycreekmedia... Read More ...