Mar 5, 2010

More H-2A Rules

Did some traveling this winter. Went to Sandusky in January for the annual conference of the Ohio Produce Growers & Marketers Association. Learned more about Ohio’s alternative to California’s produce safety plans.

Went to Pennsylvania in February. Spent a few days at the Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention in Hershey. Walked through the trade show; sat in on some educational sessions. Good show. Very informative.

After that, drove about 45 minutes to Lancaster, site of the North American Farmers’ Direct Marketing Association’s annual conference. Got snowed in the first day, but hopped on the bus the next day and saw some nice farm markets and agritourism operations. The Lancaster area is quite beautiful, especially when it’s covered with 2 feet of snow.

Flew home at the right time, between snowstorms, and here I am.

Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Matt Milkovich, the new managing editor of FGN. If you’ve been reading the magazine the last few years, you’ve probably seen my name. We have a new assistant editor, too. His name is Derrek Sigler. You’ll be hearing more from both of us in future issues.

H-2A

Speaking of issues, looks like the U.S. Department of Labor is enacting new H-2A rules again, effective March 15. According to the labor department, the “final rule is being published to strengthen worker protections for both U.S. and foreign workers and to ensure overall H-2A program integrity.”

So, what will this mean for growers who use the H-2A program to hire legal foreign laborers? Well, according to the National Council of Agricultural Employers (NCAE), it’s not going to be good.

“The new rule will make an already difficult and costly process even more difficult for growers to use,” according to NCAE. “The new rule replaces 2008 reforms that, though imperfect, were a step forward in addressing the needs of H-2A participants. This is the fourth effort to rewrite the rules of this program in less than two years, and is causing tremendous confusion, concern and wasted expense by users.”

NCAE listed several of its concerns in a press release. Among other things, employers will have to deal with more requirements and increased penalties.

“These issues increase the difficulty, record-keeping requirements, potential for litigation and costs of the program so significantly that there is wide concern that many growers may be driven away from the program altogether,” according to the press release.

If that’s true, it doesn’t bode well for the industry. H-2A is the only legal, seasonal guest-worker program available to U.S. growers. If they can’t afford that, what other options do they have?

U.S. workers? Growers have said time and again that most Americans don’t want to do farm work, even in a down economy.

So, if domestic workers aren’t available and legal foreign workers are too hard to obtain, that leaves … illegal foreign workers. We know how much everybody loves that situation.