H2-A

The American Farm Bureau Federation says the move by the U.S. government to suspend visa processing in Mexico to combat the spread of coronavirus could cause a serious farm labor shortage at a key time for planting and harvesting. And the AFBF is asking for a tamer solution ...

Sighting efforts to stop the spread of coronavirus, the U.S. government this week announced it was suspending the practice of approving visas in Mexico. That announcement is not siting well with the farming community. On Thursday, Central Washington’s Dan Newhouse joined a bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers sending a letter to Secretary of State Pompeo, Homeland Security Secretary Wolf, and

On Wednesday, the U.S. Apple Association joined other national agriculture organizations calling on the State Department to expedite all H2-A and other non-immigrant agricultural worker visas. In a letter to Secretary Mike Pompeo, the Ag Workforce Coalition, (of which USApple is a founding member) called for the State Department to treat all agricultural workers under emergency visa services ...

Dairy farmers from the National Milk Producers Federation are in Washington, D.C., this week visiting with lawmakers. The visits are part of a fly-in calling for an agricultural labor bill that could be reconciled with a plan the House approved last year, providing the stable, secure labor force U ...

Late last week, the Agriculture Workforce Coalition urged the U.S. Senate to take up legislation to solve the agricultural labor crisis.  A letter penned by the coalition urges lawmakers to address the Adverse Effect Wage Rate, which increased nationally by 6% for 2020.  ...

Does Jon DeVaney expect Ag labor to be an issue in Olympia this session? We take a look in today's Focus On Fruit.         If you have a story idea for the Washington Ag Network, call (509) 547-1618, or e-mail gvaagen@cherrycreekradio.com    ...

The 2020 Washington legislative session will be here before you know it.  And while much of the Ag community is watching taxes, H2-A and labor issues very carefully, Jon DeVaney with the Washington state Tree Fruit Association says the environment will be a key issue as well.  He...

On Monday, over 300 Ag groups sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy supporting House Resolution 5038, better known as  the Farm Workforce Modernization Act.  The bipartisan legislation led by Central Washington's Dan Newhouse, Zoe Lofgren and Jimmy Panetta, both from California, as well as Idaho's Mike Simpson and Florida's Mario Diaz-Balart, addresses the

During his recent trip to Mexico, Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue said the conversation turned to labor issues.   "Encouraging Mexico to do what we feel like other triangle countries are doing help to pre-certify," Perdue noted. "Particularly those farmers and people in southeastern Mexico who would like to come to the U.S. f...

Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue is hoping that a third round of trade aid payments to farmers will be unnecessary in 2020 because of a new trade deal with China.  The Hagstrom Report says Perdue spoke with reporters last week shortly after returning from a “successful” trade mission to Mexico. Farmers “would ...