H-2A Homeland Security Amendment Pt 2
With today's Fruit Grower Report, I'm Bob Larson. It's not a Plan B or a fall back should the H-2A Ag and Legal Workforce Act fails to gain enough support, but U.S.Representative Dan Newhouse says it's of vital importance to the labor shortage crisis.
Newhouse says this amendment would extend the H-2A program beyond seasonal work to ALL of agriculture, but the Ag Labor reform bill is still high on his to-do list ...
NEWHOUSE ... "I've not given up. I'm going to work very hard to get the support from my colleagues so that we can move the Ag Labor Reform bill, but in the mean time this is a good step that we can take. It's a small step, but it will have a big impact on a large number of our producers."
He says the amendment only changes WHO can use the H-2A program ...
NEWHOUSE ... "Yeah, they would have to, those H-2A employees would still have to comply with the rules of the current H-2A program. So, they would only be able to be here for under a year, but then they could be readmitted in a new H-2A season."
Newhouse says year-round employers might have to get creative ...
NEWHOUSE ... "I would anticipate that dairies would be able to stagger their labor force. If they're going to utilize H-2A, they wouldn't have all of the visas expire at the same time, obviously, and so that they would be able to have a labor force in place at all times while people are back in their home country for the necessary period of time."
Newhouse says modern agriculture demands an updating of the bureaucratic H-2A program.
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BL: Welcome back for another "Fruit Bites" brought to you by Valent U.S.A. With us again is Valent's Allison Walston. And this week Allison, you're here to tell us about the oldest apple trees in the Pacific Northwest.
AW: At 192 years old, the oldest apple tree in the PNW resides in Vancouver, Washington.
BL: Who planted this tree? Johnny Appleseed?
AW: The story goes that at a party in London, Lieutenant Emilius Simpson was given apple seeds from a lady's dessert and was asked to plant them on the other side of the world as he set out for Fort Vancouver. So in 1826, Lt. Simpson planted the seeds & 4 years later, they harvested the apples.
BL: How do they know it is that old?
AW: From core samples & the HBC has a record of importing the apple seeds.
BL: wasn't there another tree that tried to claim this honor?
AW: Renamed & claimed as the oldest "grafted-standard variety" apple tree is in Portland. The Yellow Bellflower Apple, on the Dosch Estate, was planted in 1850 by Albert Kelly, a minister from Kentucky.
BL: Well, thanks Allison. Join us again next time for Fruit Bites, brought to you by Valent. Until then, I'm Bob Larson.
Old Apple Tree Park, 112 Columbia Way
4700 SW Campbell Ct., Portland, OR 97239
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-old-apple-tree
https://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/04/when_it_comes_to_trees_in_the.html
https://www.cfsww.org/donor-stories/seeding-heritage/
http://www.homeorchardsociety.org/growfruit/apples/all-about-the-apple-called-yellow-bellflower/