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Below you'll see everything we could locate for your search of “H-2A”
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association (FFVA) commended the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) for extending the 2020 Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) for the H-2A program through 2022. The vast majority of Florida citrus is harvested by temporary foreign workers in the H-2A program. “We applaud the agency for recognizing that the …
When the U.S. government announced its decision to suspend visa processing in Mexico on March 18 to combat the spread of COVID-19, growers around the country immediately expressed concerns that the action could have a major impact on agriculture and the U.S. food supply. The concern, of course, was due to the vital role that foreign workers play in the …
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced new features on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farmers.gov website designed to help facilitate the employment of H-2A workers. The vast majority of Florida citrus is harvested by temporary foreign workers employed through the H-2A program. “USDA’s goal is to help farmers navigate the complex H-2A program that is administered by …
A temporary final rule change to some H-2A requirements is intended to help citrus and other agricultural employers avoid disruptions to their labor forces, protect the food supply and lessen impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic. The rule change was announced by the Department of Homeland Security with the support of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Temporary foreign H-2A workers make …
A panel discussion at Citrus Expo’s general session aimed to help make the federal H-2A foreign guest worker program a little easier for agriculturists to navigate. The panel included a grower representative who has used H-2A, a labor attorney who is an H-2A expert, and a federal Department of Labor (DOL) regional director. Natalie Gupton, director of business services and industry …
By Fritz M. Roka The number of H-2A foreign guest workers employed in Florida’s agricultural operations has grown from 4,400 in 2009 to nearly 23,000 by the start of the 2015 citrus harvesting season, more than a five-fold increase (Figure 1). More H-2A workers came to Florida in 2015 than to any other state. Industry leaders estimate that more than …
By Jaci Shreckengost The H-2A program is a guest-worker program that allows people from other countries to come to the United States on a visa as agricultural employees for temporary, seasonal work. Many industries are beginning to use H-2A due to uncertainty over the domestic labor supply, says Fritz Roka, an associate professor of agriculture economics at the University of …
By Jaci Shreckengost Concern over availability of domestic employees in the United States has caused growers to change where they get their labor. Fritz Roka, associate professor of agriculture economics at the University of Florida’s Southwest Florida Research and Education Center in Immokalee, says the uncertainty surrounding the immigration policies of the current United States administration has led growers to …
The federal H-2A program that allows temporary agricultural guest workers from other countries has grown dramatically in recent years. Approximately 80 percent of all Florida citrus is harvested by H-2A workers, says Carlene Thissen, coordinator for farm labor supervisor training at the Southwest Florida Research and Education Center in Immokalee. She says the number of H-2A workers in Florida citrus …
The National Council of Agricultural Employers (NCAE) has joined several agricultural associations and individual farmers in a lawsuit challenging a federal farmworker protection rule. The Department of Labor (DOL) rule is titled Improving Protections for Workers in Temporary Agricultural Employment in the United States. NCAE stated that the rule unlawfully violates the rights of America’s farm and ranch families. It …
A federal workplace safety investigation found a Florida labor contractor could have prevented the fatal illness of a 41-year-old worker who collapsed while harvesting oranges at Alico Farms in December 2023. According to investigators, the incident could have been avoided if the required steps to protect employees from hazards associated with high temperatures were taken. Inspectors with the U.S. Department of Labor’s …
A coalition of states, including Florida and Georgia, recently joined a lawsuit filed by the Southeastern Legal Foundation (SLF) challenging the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Farmworker Protection Rule. DOL announced the final rule in late April, saying it would strengthen protections for farmworkers in the H-2A program. The Farmworker Protection Rule will become effective June 28, 2024. SLF is …
The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) and the National Council of Agricultural Employers (NCAE) have harshly criticized the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) recently announced H-2A farmworker protection rule. An AFBF statement declared that the rule “mires farm families in excessive compliance costs while disregarding privacy concerns for farmers and their employees. With this addition, DOL sets itself apart as …
Some Florida citrus growers decided to start slowly with trunk injection of oxytetracycline (OTC), treating only a small portion of their acreage. Others took a wait-and-see approach, hoping to learn from their peers’ experiences. But Wheeler Farms went all in, treating 100% of their trees with trunk injection. “What we were doing was not working, so we needed to try …
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced the Farm Labor Stabilization and Protection Pilot Program (FLSP). The new pilot grant program aims to improve food and agricultural supply-chain resiliency by addressing challenges agricultural employers face with labor shortages and instability. “The program will provide incentives designed to simultaneously benefit workers and employers, with the potential to inform the H-2A …
By Tacy Callies Before they were married, Nate and Anna Jameson vowed they would one day farm for themselves. They met while attending the University of Florida. Nate graduated with a Bachelor of Science in ag operations management, while Anna earned her degree in animal science. After graduation, Anna worked for Lykes Meat Group and Nate for Ben Hill Griffin …
By Ariel Singerman Harvesting citrus is manual and labor intensive, making the cost of labor a key component of the cost of harvesting. The H-2A guest worker program allows companies to temporarily hire non-U.S. citizens to perform agricultural labor or services of seasonal nature. Given that domestic workers for harvesting are in short supply, harvesting companies in Florida (and other …
Texas growers appear to be back on track after Winter Storm Uri caused significant setbacks to many groves in February 2021, according to a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service expert. ACREAGE STATUSDespite citrus production losses to the storm, Juan Anciso, AgriLife Extension horticulturist at Weslaco, said he was pleasantly surprised that the industry was faring much better than he expected. …
U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff is leading the charge to support Georgia’s farmers and strengthen the state’s growing citrus industry. He introduced the Georgia Citrus Development Act of 2023to ensure Georgia citrus growers are represented when guiding key decisions for the industry. Sen. Ossoff’s bill would add a new Georgia member to the Citrus Disease Subcommittee (CDS), a national policy council …
In late February, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) pushed through a new methodology used to determine the hourly adverse effect wage rates (AEWR) for agricultural employers. The rule became effective March 30. Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association (FFVA) Director of Labor Relations Jamie Fussell discussed the action’s impact on growers: IMPACT ON EMPLOYERSSimply, the new rule may mean that …
