Vegetable Growers News

Happy Accident Leads to Designer Pumpkins

Ten years ago, Bob Koenders saw two intruders on his farm in Armada, Mich. Normally, he would have eliminated them and the threat they posed, but he decided to let them live. He’s glad he did. The “intruders” were two vining plants growing on the banks of a drainage ditch. Bob figured they were “volunteer” pumpkins from the previous year’s crop, somehow thriving amidst the native plants. He wasn’t sure how they got there. They were nowhere near his pumpkin fields. Probably, some of his teenage employees had been screwing around, throwing excess pumpkins at each other on the way to dumping them in the nearby woods. However they got there, Bob had never seen anything quite like the two plants – and he was a bit concerned. Such intruders could become unintentional host plants for invasive pests. Common knowledge told him to spray them with Roundup…  » Read more

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Health Care Rules

President Obama and Congress revamped the U.S. health care system in March. You might have heard about it. There’s a lot of information – and a lot of opinions – swirling around regarding how things are going to change. You’re probably wondering how all of it is going to affect you, not just as an individual but as an employer – an employer of a highly mobile, seasonal work force. Well, some of the measures that will affect you as an individual – and your family – will take effect later this year, including the ability to carry children on your insurance plan to age 26, the elimination of annual and lifetime coverage caps on insurance plans and the elimination of dropping coverage due to illness. For employers, here are a couple of tidbits from a summary of the new health care rules put together by the…  » Read more

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Hiring Workers Might Earn Tax Benefits

According to a bill signed into law March 18, employers – including agricultural employers – who hire previously unemployed workers this year might be eligible for two new tax benefits: a FICA payroll tax exemption and a “retained worker” tax credit, according to the National Council of Agricultural Employers (NCAE). An IRS press release states that both tax benefits are “especially helpful to employers who are adding positions to their payrolls.” The benefits are part of the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act, which applies to most employers, including those, like growers, who hire seasonal employees. Employers of seasonal employees are eligible for both benefits, but will probably get more out of the FICA exemption, according to NCAE. NCAE wrote a white paper about the HIRE Act, which describes how the exemption works: “The FICA payroll tax exemption relieves employers from the obligation to pay the Old-Age,…  » Read more

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