In a recent article, the New York Times reports the Department of Labor has certified 17% more H-2A guest worker visas in the first half of 2026 than in the same period in 2025.
John Hollay, president and CEO of the National Council of Agricultural Employers, says this tracks with what he’s seen and heard. He points to the interim final rule and its change to how the Adverse Effect Wage Rate has been seen as an improvement to growers who have long rallied in the past for updates to the program.
“With the new interim final rule’s wage rates, there has been renewed interest in the program, particularly from producers who took a look at H-2A in the past, didn’t think it would be financially feasible and are now looking at it again,” he says.
He says he’s also heard that other growers and industries that might have categorically not participated in the past are also tapping into the program. He says this has included hauling feed to animal lots and hauling waste from animal lots.
“You have to get really specific and the jobs have to be delineated to make sure you comply with the rules,” he says. “But again, employers are finding ways to make H-2A work for them where before they thought, ‘Oh, this is going to be too much of a headache.’ They were willing to take the chance with the new interim final rule.”
Hollay points to states like California where many growers in the past didn’t use the program but now have opted into the H-2A guest worker visa program.
“Once the program sets in in a region, we’re seeing it expand,” he says. ”And you tie that with the need that’s out there and the new IFR — it becomes an easier choice for producers.”
This increased use is a positive for the fresh produce industry, according to Hollay.
“We want farmers to be utilizing legal pathways to acquire workers,” he says. “An increase in the H-2A program should be seen as a good thing, because it means that farmers have exhausted their attempts to hire Americans, and their next step is to go through a legal program.”
