By Clint Thompson
The H-2A program can be a complicated process for fruit and vegetable growers who are trying to remain in compliance.
John Hollay, president and CEO of the National Council of Agricultural Employers (NCAE), believes the Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act will help with making the process more streamlined.
“We’ve got folks who have done everything right. All of their workers are legal,” Hollay said. “There’s just been delays in the system that have cost them up to $2 million for a single employer for just delays from costs, overruns for meals, housing, wages; not even lost product out in the field. And so streamlining, as much as it may not be the big idea in most people’s minds, that’s the thing that actually keeps the program operating. It makes it an attractive tool for people to want to use.
“The easier you make it, particularly for those industries that are gaining access for the first time, the better off the program’s going to run. And we need the only legal labor option for American farmers to work as intended. Otherwise, they will turn to other means.”
U.S. Representative GT Thompson introduced the labor bill on June 30. The bipartisan bill is designed to reform and modernize the H-2A program for the first time in 40 years.
The H-2A program allows U.S. employers or U.S. agents who meet specific regulatory requirements to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary agricultural jobs. According to American Farm Bureau, more than 400,000 H-2A positions were requested in FY 2025. Almost half of the certifications occurred in just five states, including Florida, Georgia and North Carolina.