Labor

MAFVC engages Spanish-speaking farm workers, farmers

Since 2009, Penn State Extension has hosted a full-day session at the Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention (MAFVC), taught completely in Spanish. The MAFVC was held Feb. 2-4 in Hershey, Pennsylvania. ... more »

US Chamber of Commerce, USDA promote agriculture jobs to military veterans

The USDA announced a joint agreement with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation to increase employment opportunities in the agricultural sector for military veterans and their spouses. USDA Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services Deputy Under Secretary... more »

US Department of Labor announces delays in H-2A applications

Employers who participate in H-1B, H-2A and H-2B temporary nonimmigrant visa programs may experience delays in the processing of applications, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC). The OFLC... more »

Filling the labor gap: more Michigan growers hiring H-2A workers

Michigan growers are taking the plunge into H-2A, and don’t appear to be turning back. It started with a pilot project in 2014, when four apple orchards hired 90 pickers. By 2015, Michigan Farm Bureau,... more »

Farm labor harder to find than it was 50 years ago

Five decades ago, there was a sea change in the world of agricultural labor – and ag employers are still feeling the ripples today. It started in 1960, when CBS aired “Harvest of Shame.” The... more »

Poster requirements can be daunting for employers

Employers must often keep up with a variety of required government posters at their orchards, farms or other places of business, which can be daunting at times. Private poster services can be helpful by selling... more »

New worker protection rules impact farm, greenhouse workers

Owners of farms, forests, nurseries and greenhouses that use pesticides in agricultural plant production will have to implement additional safeguards for their pesticide handlers and agricultural workers under a revision to the Worker Protection Standard.... more »

EPA updates ag worker pesticide rules

EPA has revised the 1992 Agricultural Worker Protection Standard (WPS) regulation, which seeks to protect agricultural workers and pesticide handlers from injury or illness resulting from contact with pesticides. “We depend on farm workers every... more »