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Start now to get 2025 H-2A workers, follow regulations

An ag labor consultant says dairy farmers need to follow the rules when utilizing H-2A guest workers. 

Sarah Black with Great Lakes Ag Labor Services tells Brownfield there are plenty of seasonal jobs on a dairy farm, but milking cows is not one of them. “Milking cows has to be done 365 days, but these workers can do everything else. They can help with planting, with harvesting, with hauling manure, with a lot of those types of activities on the farm that we don’t do 365 days, so there is a role for H-2A in dairy. You just can’t put them in the parlor to milk cows.”

Black says there are a lot of steps involved in H-2A, and farmers that want to hire new H-2A employees for planting season shouldn’t wait any longer. “Plan ahead at least four months before you want the guys to arrive, because you’ve got to figure out housing and get it inspected, and there are a lot of pieces that have to be in place before you even file a contract, and that has to be filed 75 days before the start date, so if you’re thinking about H-2A for next year and maybe in the spring, you ought to be working on it right now.”

Black says farm managers that are new to hiring guest workers should make sure they are working with someone who knows the regulations and can help guide them through the many steps.

Great Lakes Ag Labor Services started ten years ago as a service to Michigan Farm Bureau members and has expanded to serve other states.

Black spoke to Brownfield during the recent Wisconsin Farm Bureau Annual Meeting.

AUDIO: Sarah Black discusses how the H-2A program can work for dairy farms with Brownfield’s Larry Lee