Workers on Nick and Berenise Gomeza’s farm near Ontario, Ore.在美国，人们与自然母亲赛跑，收获了4000多万磅红洋葱和黄洋葱.
潮湿的春季将2023年的种植推迟了两周，直到9月底才开始收获. 平均而言，初霜通常在10月中旬降临，需要几周的时间才能到来,000英亩洋葱, normal harvest stress was amplified. 如果不是戈麦斯夫妇通过联邦H-2A临时农业劳工计划雇佣了20名外国工人的话, 贝蕾妮丝·戈麦斯扎说，很多蔬菜可能会在田地里冻坏腐烂.
“I can’t find anyone locally to work [in the fields],戈麦斯说。, despite offering pay exceeding Oregon’s minimum wage of $14.每小时20英镑. She knows harvesting onions isn’t easy. 工人们站在嘈杂的地方, 尘土飞扬的矿车, quickly pulling off onion tops as the vegetables are loaded into trucks. Workdays can be as long as 16 hours. Processing onions is hard, fast-paced work, too, but it all must be done.
戈麦斯说:“我们只有这么多的时间来收获庄稼，否则我们就会失去它。. “If it weren’t for H-2A workers, we couldn’t grow our business.”
农场需要帮手
Labor shortages plague agriculture. 美国.S. 劳工部 Statistics projects about 142,000 job openings on average every year through 2032 in farming, 渔业和林业.
Finding ag workers will likely get even tougher for many reasons, David Magana说, senior horticulture analyst with Rabobank. 关键因素包括熟练的农场工人老化而没有愿意替代的人, smaller family sizes in the U.S. and Mexico, and stiff competition from construction and other industries.
h - 2 a计划 by the numbers (fiscal year 2023)
- Positions requested: 389,908
- Positions certified: 378,513
- Total applications processed: 20,881
- Applications processed: 98.2%
资料来源:美国.S. 劳工部
“现在有经验和意愿从事农业工作的农民工越来越少,Magana说。.
的 h - 2 a计划 is one answer to the farm labor shortage. 的 program, primarily administered by the U.S. 劳工部 (DOL), 允许预计家庭佣工短缺的雇主临时雇用不超过一年的非移民外籍佣工. 工作通常是季节性的，与一个事件或模式有关，比如收获或种植. 客籍工人在季节结束时返回家乡，但许多人回到美国.S. year after year, often to the same employer.
农民、合作社和农业企业对该计划的使用急剧增加. 的 DOL certified more than 378,000 temporary jobs in fiscal year 2023, seven times the number in 2005. 大约80%的认证工作申请最终会获得进入美国的签证.S.数据显示.
投资于农业工人
Using the program isn’t cheap or easy for employers. Filing and visa fees are about $1,000 per worker, according to the U.S. Department of 农业 (USDA). 这些文书工作既密集又耗时，往往意味着需要聘请专门从事H-2A签证协助的第三方机构, which can cost several thousand dollars per worker.
雇主必须为在美国工作的工人提供往返本国的交通工具.S. 他们还必须提供住房，并保证全职工作——每周至少35小时——每个州的农场和牲畜工人的法定最低时薪是超过最低工资的平均时薪, but doesn’t adversely affect local workers. In Oregon, the 2023 pay rate was $17.每小时97英镑. In some states, overtime pay is also mandated.
“H-2A计划是满足农业工人需求的另一种选择，”Magana说. “的 h - 2 a计划 increases the cost of labor for farmers. 一些使用它的农民说，我不得不多支付15%的(劳动力)费用，但生产率却提高了20%.’ ”
团队成员
的 Gomezas operate both N.J. Gomeza Farms and Riverfront Produce, located across the Oregon border and Snake River in 帕耶特, 爱达荷州. 农场经营始于2005年，种植了几百英亩的洋葱. 除了洋葱, 操作增长1,400 acres of winter wheat and added 600 acres of potatoes two years ago. A packing facility was acquired in 2011. 的 vegetables are shipped throughout North America to grocery stores, restaurants and food processors.
H-2A workers have been an integral part of the businesses for five years. 外来工帮助种植、灌溉、施用作物保护产品和收获作物. 有些工人被雇佣几个月，而其他人则整个季节都在这里. 戈麦斯夫妇在2023年通过H-2A项目雇佣了28名男子，约占他们劳动力的一半. One was from 南非 and the rest came from Mexico.
“While other businesses have struggled [to find help], we have continued to grow by adding potatoes to our program,戈麦斯说。. “[H-2A]使我们受益. It’s expensive, but the guys are dependable and work hard.”
史蒂夫Mendiola, general manager of Farmers Supply Cooperative based in Ontario, says the local labor crunch is real. 的合作社, which supplies fertilizer, crop protection inputs and more to the Gomezas, is also considering using the h - 2 a计划.
“We’re always looking for help. Several local farmers and packing houses use the program,” Mendiola says. “的 Gomezas have fine-tuned using it.” “的re’s a lot of paperwork and state and federal regulations to follow,戈麦斯说。, “but once you get it down, it’s a pretty easy process.尽管如此，她还是雇佣了一家皇冠hga010安卓二维码来帮忙，因为她的家庭还很年轻，还要经营自己的生意.
Employee-focused
戈麦斯说，连续性和经验是H-2A项目获得回报的关键. That means treating workers well to ensure a core group returns every year, which reduces training needs and boosts productivity. As a result, she says, “We’re raising more crops with less people.”
戈麦斯夫妇购买了四套带家具的双层房屋和一套供H-2A工人居住的房子. Each home has air conditioning, a washer and dryer, and a yard.
戈麦斯每周都会检查这些工人的住所，并奖励住所最干净的工人免费购买食品杂货. 的 farm provides food during the workday, 用于运输的卡车和货车以及用于加强通信的手机, 允许员工记录他们的工作时间，让他们与家人和朋友交流.
对于考虑使用H-2A计划的农民，戈麦斯建议遵循黄金法则.
她说:“如果你希望你的员工做得好，你就需要为他们做得好。. “他们一次离开家人10到12周，有时长达10个月. It’s only right to make sure they are treated well and rewarded.”
C.P. “肥皂”文特尔, 22, 2023年，他第一次获得了H-2A就业机会，并担任了戈麦斯兄弟卸货队的领班, working from mid-September to mid-December.
At home near Jeffreys Bay, 南非, Venter works on a cattle and sheep ranch, earning the equivalent of $15 in U.S. 每日货币. 他说，他已经习惯了长时间工作，而且很享受为戈麦斯一家工作带来的较高收入.
“We’re here to chase hours, make money and get the job done,他说, adding he hopes to return to the Gomeza farm in 2024. “I want to impress the boss to come back and do it better every year.”
H-2A workers help meet co-op labor needs
合作社也感受到了劳动力短缺，H-2A客工项目正在帮助填补这些缺口.
的 CHS ag retail location based in Devils Lake, N.D.美国于2022年首次使用H-2A计划，从南非雇佣了三名工人. 的 number doubled in 2023 and is likely to reach 10 workers in 2024.
“It’s increasingly difficult to hire part-time employees. Due to the seasonal nature of our business, we decided this would be our best option to fill hiring gaps,杰森·爱德华兹说。, the location’s senior director of operations. “该计划使我们能够满足客户的期望，同时为我们的设施和员工提供所需的帮助.”
On site from March through November, 外来工为作物生长季节准备了设备和设施, 处理谷物等. 一个额外的好处是:“我们的员工与客工建立了持久的关系，”爱德华兹说.
在太平洋西北地区，合作团队和客户也从H-2A项目中受益. Five workers were based in Langdon, Wash.根据需求的变化，在整个地区移动和施用肥料. 吉姆·克罗克特, senior operations manager at Langdon, 据报道，一名工人甚至获得了商业驾驶执照，这样他就可以将肥料运送到农场并定制应用钻机.
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