H-2A IS COMING TO THE DAIRY INDUSTRY
For most of my career in the industry, there has been little change in how the H-2A Program works. Sure, there have been a number of times big changes have been announced or even enacted, but the constant tug-of-war between economic interests and worker rights groups generally makes it difficult for substantial changes, good or bad, to stick (for examples, see the USCIS’s rule that would have required H-2A workers to demonstrate that they would not need public benefits or, more recently, the Farmworker Protection Rule) .
However, we’re only in June, and, already, this year has seen two substantial changes that not only seem more secure, but also make the H-2A Program more accessible. Earlier in the year, we saw the AEWR calculation change to take housing costs into account. And now, we’re seeing quite possibly the biggest change the industry has had since 2010.
Yesterday, on June 17th, USCIS issued formal guidance stating that the H-2A Program is open to dairies, including for milking cows. This much-needed change will bring tremendous relief to an industry that has been starved for qualified farm workers for decades.
Historically, DOL and USCIS have held the position that, because cows need to be tended to every day of the year, dairy work was not temporary/seasonal and therefore did not qualify for the H-2A Program. However, this recent guidance not only confirms that Congress intended for the H-2A Program to be accessible to the dairy industry, it also illustrates how dairies can demonstrate that their work qualifies.
To reiterate, this announcement does not include a formal, dairy-specific exemption to the H-2A Program’s temporary/seasonal need requirements. Rather, this guidance changes a long-held interpretation that generally made the program inaccessible to dairy operations. Dairies will still need to demonstrate that their need for workers is temporary/seasonal, but they will now be treated like other H-2A employers in that regard.
This is absolutely a change to be celebrated. Because of this seemingly small interpretive change, thousands of businesses that have been struggling to find and hire qualified employees will now be able to take advantage of a program that so many other farmers across the country have come to rely on.
If you’d like to start using the H-2A Program to hire workers for a dairy operation, contact us today to discuss your options and get the ball rolling on applying for certification. And if you know someone who operates a dairy and would benefit from this information, feel free to pass it along to them!
Until next time,
The Agri Placements Team
