Farms are allowed to hire foreign workers through the H-2A visa program to help fill labor gaps. But, as several recent lawsuits and federal investigations show, some farms favored H-2A farmworkers over U.S.-based farmworkers willing to do the job.
H-2A farmworkers often complain of housing and employment abuses, and the federal government can temporarily ban employers from the visa labor program. But the bans are easy to evade, according to government reports, experts and Investigate Midwest’s data analysis.
The USDA rolled out the $3.1 billion Partnership for Climate-Smart Commodities without solving one of the vexing problems that has affected farmers with carbon credit programs. The issue of how to treat additionality — adding more practices to qualify for a private carbon market — still hangs out th
Monitoring wells at 16 Pillen family-tied operations have tested for nitrate levels far above legal drinking water limit. One was so high, an expert said, “it should be a 911.”
