H-2B Program Suspended & Watch Out For Pests

H-2B Program Suspended & Watch Out For Pests. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report.

It's been a very mild winter and while those of us who don't care for the cold have been rejoicing, so have the little crawly things. 2015 may be known as the year of the pest as warmer weather and dryer conditions will likely result in a major increase in populations of pests like aphids, whiteflies, mites, and fleas. Farmers, orchardists and backyard gardeners will need to be hitting their pest management a bit earlier this but as always, make sure you are using the right product for the right pest. Rose Kachadoorian of the Oregon Department of Agriculture's Pesticides Program says there is one upside.

KACHADOORIAN: We often have slugs at this time of year because it's cool and wet. We really aren't seeing a lot of slugs this year. In contrast, we'll start seeing more mites, we might see more caterpillars, we might even see more aphids this year.

Effective immediately, the Department of Labor has suspended all processing of H-2B applications. H-2B is the federal program for non-agricultural seasonal and one time need that is used by hundreds of employers in landscape, construction, and even the hospitality industry to obtain a legal and stable workforce for essentially seasonal jobs. This announcement, DOES NOT impact the H-2A program. This ruling will exacerbate the national labor shortage for seasonal non-agricultural jobs unless Congress or the Administration quickly steps in.

That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network of the West.