The USDA is gathering input to help shape a recently announced planned grant program focused on improving the resiliency of our food and agricultural supply chain.
U.S. representative Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif., whose district includes Salinas and other fresh produce growing areas, has invited a farmworker as guest to the State of the Union address.
LAS VEGAS — Election-year politics will present a big challenge to reform efforts for H-2A regulations, but growers must be prepared to lobby for changes in the increasingly important farm labor program.
Seeking wage relief for U.S. growers using foreign guest workers, the National Council of Agricultural Employers still wants the U.S. Department of Labor to determine if U.S. workers are hurt by the H-2A program.
Another mandated increase in H-2A guest farmworker wage rates has made Congressional action on farm labor reform even more critical, according to the Agriculture Workforce Coalition.
Beyond adding new companies to the program and a big influx of financial support, the Equitable Food Initiative has made a difference in 2019, the organization’s leaders believe.
Fresh produce industry organizations are urging House members to approve the Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2019, which they are voting on Dec. 11.
Congress is taking steps to address the labor crisis facing farmers and ranchers.
The bill now moves to the full house for consideration. It comes on the heels of USDA releasing a new farm labor report.
(UPDATED, Nov. 21) Bipartisan farmworker immigration legislation has cleared its first hurdle, passing by voice vote in the House Judiciary Committee Nov. 20.
PALM BEACH, Fla. — It is a 50-50 chance that bipartisan legislation to reform key aspects of the H-2A guest worker program will be considered by Congress this fall, says Craig Regelbrugge.
The U.S. Department of Labor has issued a final rule that will allow agricultural employers to advertise for domestic workers online rather than in a newspaper before they turn to foreign guest workers.
While stating that the China trade war “is what it is,” Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told attendees of the United Fresh Washington Conference that a new trade agreement with Japan may be only days away.
The Texas International Produce Association is teaming with Equitable Food Initiative (EFI) and CIERTO Global to host two workshops on labor challenges.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Immigration reform, trade and child nutrition reauthorization grabbed the top talking points at the United Fresh Washington Conference’s March on Capitol Hill.
A roundtable for responsible recruitment of farmworkers and packers will feature speakers representing Walmart, Castellini Group, Lipman Family Farms and Titan Farms.
U.S. Department of Agriculture officials have again visited Grimmway Farms, for a listening session on issues facing California farmers, from immigration to water rights.
Water issues, hemp and labor issues will be the center of discussion at the combined Citrus Expo and Vegetable & Specialty Crop Expo Aug. 14-15 in North Fort Myers, Fla.
Douglas H. Fisher, New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture, released a statement in response to an Aug. 8 article from The Philadelphia Inquirer about labor housing conditions at blueberry farms.
The U.S. Department of Labor has signed a bi-lateral cooperative agreement with Guatemala to improve transparency, accountability, and worker safety in the H-2A visa program for agricultural workers from Guatemala.
UPDATED: The U.S. and Guatemala are pursuing a program to boost H-2A workers from that country, in an effort to stem what the Department of Homeland Security calls irregular migration patterns.
NEW YORK — Some of the state's fresh produce industry leaders say the proposed New York Farm Laborer Fair Labor Practices Act will hurt the agricultural industry, but they are relieved for a bit of compromise.
(UPDATED, 11:38 a.m.)Taking a step to deliver on a 2018 promise, a proposed rule from the Trump administration seeks to update the way wage rates are determined for the H-2A agricultural guest worker program.
Apple growers from across the country participated in the U.S. Apple Association’s Capitol Hill Day, meeting with more than 100 legislative offices on trade, labor and farm bill issues.
Hundreds of mushroom industry growers, business leaders and researchers will gather in Orlando, Fla., Feb. 14-16 for the 25th North American Mushroom Conference.
Just shy of five years after they voted on union representation, Fresno, Calif.-based Gerawan Farming employees have had their votes officially certified by the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board.
Salinas, Calif.-based D’Arrigo Bros. of California signed a new contract with the United Farm Workers union that will cover more than 1,500 farm workers, according to a news release.
With two minimum wage increases in the past year for Ontario growers and another likely for next year, higher costs for labor have slowed any expansion ideas, some say.
Just as immigration reform continues to elude lawmakers in Washington, D.C., a stable workforce continues to elude grower-shippers in California’s Salinas Valley.
