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labor visas

Duvall: Biggest problem facing agriculture is lack of labor

Congress must reform the guestworker program to ensure there are enough workers on the farm to produce America's food, said the president of the largest U.S. farm group on Sunday. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>

Meatpackers hiring more guestworkers

Nearly twice as many meat-processing plants employ short-term foreign workers than in 2015, "a small but growing trend" in the industry, said an Investigate Midwest report. Seaboard Foods, one of the companies using H-2B guestworkers, said it pays the workers the same wage and provides the same benefits that it gives domestic employees, although the comparatively small number of guestworkers wear a hard hat with an identifying color.

Ads for seasonal workers go digital

For years, farmers and ranchers were required to advertise in newspapers for American workers before they were allowed to hire seasonal workers from other nations. Effective Oct. 21, employers can post job openings on a Labor Department site — SeasonalJobs.dol.gov — and dispense with printed advertisements.

For livestock groups, USMCA and year-round labor visas are top priorities