Making H-2A Affordable Webinar

Making H-2A Affordable Webinar

I’m Lacy Gray with Washington Ag Today.

On Tuesday, January 14, from 11 a.m. to noon the Washington Farm Labor Association will be hosting an H-2A Affordable Cost-Sharing Contracts webinar for WAFLA members. WAFLA’s Dan Fazio.

FAZIO: Labor is one of the utmost crucial issues for farmers in the Pacific Northwest and one of the fastest growing programs to help farmers achieve a stable and affordable labor supply is the federal H-2A Guest Worker Program. One of our goals is to make the program affordable for small and medium sized growers.

In fact, Fazio says that in 2013 there were more than 6000 workers in the state working under the H-2A visas. While the H-2A program works well for farmers, it can also be be a costly venture for ag employers since they are required to pay all expenses associated with getting workers to the job site – including visa fees, inbound and outbound transportation, and subsistence during travel. The Cost-Sharing webinar will highlight ways that farmers can make the program more affordable.

FAZIO: Like teaming up with another grower, and that cuts the travel costs in half for the program. The growers tell us that they get the same workers year in and year out, and those workers are working only for them.

During the webinar growers will learn how making their workers available to other growers in periods where they do not need them can save them perhaps $500 or more per worker.

To find out more and to register for this free H-2A Affordable Cost-Sharing Contracts webinar visit Washington Farm Labor Association’s website at wafla.org.

That’s Washington Ag Today.

I’m Lacy Gray on the Ag Information Network.