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AG Squawk with Davis Michaelsen | Maxi Field | H-2A Farm Labor Made Simple
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
We move from a quiet market day into the very real problem of farm labor shortages and what it takes to hire seasonal help legally through H-2A. Maxi Field from Field Force breaks down the rules, the timelines, the costs, and the compliance traps that can make or break a season.
• grain and livestock market recap plus USDA setup
• drought talk from North Dakota and Minnesota and what it does to staffing
• plain-English definition of the H-2A visa program for agriculture
• difference between H-2A agricultural labor and H-2B non-ag seasonal labor
• how farms actually source workers through return crews and foreign recruiters
• key compliance requirements like housing inspections, transportation, and contract terms
• filing timelines including 60 to 75 day planning and emergency applications
• why farms repeat much of the process each year and what documents change
• audit risk and why pay stubs, housing, and records must stay clean
• mid-season lulls, worker transfers, and keeping a pulse on retention
• how long H-2A workers can stay in the US across job orders
• AWER wage updates and how sudden increases hit farm math
• SAWA proposal and what it could change for access, admin burden, and wage stability
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Market Mood And Show Setup
SPEAKER_03Well, it was another quiet day in the markets, sort of, I guess, mostly position evening ahead of tomorrow's USDA reports. Now, you may not believe this, but there's a lot that I don't know about H2As. Today I'm hoping to remedy that right after a quick check of the markets. From behind the big blue bodacious microphone of Ag Bull in Kansas City, USA and the Ultimate Man Cave. Welcome to Ag Squawk in the afternoon. Your pal, Davis Michelson here. Gonna be a good show today. I'm hoping to learn a few things. My guest today is Maxie Field. We're talking about H2As, we're talking about farm labor and the like. We're also gonna talk a little farming, of course. Before we get started, I gotta send an Ag Squawk shout out. Come on. Riggs Outdoor Power in Valparaiso, Indiana. Riggs Outdoor Power in Valpo, Indiana extended a line of credit in the dark to a dear, dear friend of the show, someone who you might know. I'll give you a musical clue as to who it may or may not have been. But uh this shout out goes to Riggs Outdoor Power in good old Valpo, Indiana. Let's get into it. Private exporters reported daily sales of 136,000 metric tons of soybeans to China for the 2627 marketing year and 180,000 metric tons of soybean
USDA Notes And Seasonal Price Lows
SPEAKER_03cake and meal to the Philippines for the 2627 marketing year. I wonder if that cake and meal is going to be shipped off to China. It's possible. Crop condition report according to USDA, maturity for corn and soybeans still running slightly ahead of year ago, but conditions slipped a few points during the report week. Corn rated good to excellent fellow 11 points behind the same time last year. Beans down six points from last year. Spring wheat conditions also fell back on the week, but harvest is off to a swift start. And similarly, cotton conditions deteriorated slightly while maturity slightly ahead of schedule. Now, just a little something here from the pages of Wiesmeyer's commentary today. I didn't ask him for permission to do this, but he's a giver. He loves to give back to agriculture. There's Jim Wiesmeyer right there. You can catch him on Sundays with Mr. Tommy Grissafi on Wiesmeyer's perspectives. And I have him stop in here on Fridays too. We may just get him this week as well. We had him last week and I believe the week before, even talking about the headlines. And uh, well, you know, if if you've seen me talk to Wiesmeyer, if you've seen Wiesmeyer's perspectives, you know there's never any shortage of things to talk about. This from his writing earlier today, quote A statistic making the rounds in grain market commentary holds that an August price bottom has occurred in eight of the past ten years. Tested against a decage of a decade of futures records for corn, soybeans, and wheat, the claim is best described as rounded up. The late summer bottom is a real and remarkably persistent tendency, most reliable in corn, Weismeyer says, but no straightforward count of any single grain's yearly lows gets to eight Augusts. The one version of the claim that does check out is the loosest in eight of the past ten years, at least one of the three major grains carved out an August price trough and rallied it, uh rallied off of that into the fall. Now, tomorrow I'll be talking land on the afternoon program there, just to give you something else to think about. And it is a good time to talk about land as we round into harvest and turn our attention to keeping her between the rows as best we can, moving grain here and there. We want you to be able to think about that. But I do want to make sure that we get a good update on the land market. Paul Shadag, the president of Farmers National over there in Omaha, Nebraska, will be my guest in the afternoon. And then Tommy and I, and perhaps a host of several, will have a conversation about the reports for the premium side. Agbul.com is where you can get a hold of all of our lavish premium services. Uh, we promise not to blow up your phone when it's not necessary, but when it is, uh, we'll let you know that there's something to be known. Take advantage of our premium services there. $25 a month, or look you there, two months free if you sign up for an entire year for 250 big ones. All right. Let's get to the tail of the tape in the markets, and then we'll get to Maxie. Corn, beans, and wheat were under light pressure from the open this morning. Livestock futures were mixed with Fed and feeder cattle higher as lean hogs retreated from yesterday's gains. Crude oil futures were little changed through mid-morning, holding tightly around 80 bucks per barrel. And by the way, you may know, I'm watching the markets on plus five hundred. We use plus five hundred T4 software every single day for real-time quotes and much more. Don't get left behind. Track the markets in real time. With plus 500, that's plus 500. And let's check in with those settlements on plus 500 beginning with December corn. End of the day down just a cent and a quarter at 460 and a half. November soybean futures 11.68 and three quarters, down 10 and three quarter cents on the day. That's why I said you know, quiet in the markets mostly. Down a dime in the November beans. Soybean meal was lower. Soybean oil was lower. Third verse, same as the first. December Chicago wheat down 11 cents, 648 and a quarter. December KC wheat at 716 on settlement, 15 and one quarter cents lower on the day. Over to the livestocks, your October feeder cattle futures down are up 82.5, 336.70. It's the October fat cattle that are down 57.5 cents all told to 26.32 and a half. And finally to the lean hog futures, a good day yesterday, but down 35 cents in the October contract today, 83.32 and one half. That's how the markets shook out today. And with that, let's get to the discussion. I'm very pleased to uh introduce to you Maxi Field from Field Force, FieldForcen.com. Maxi Field,
Meet Maxie And Farm Conditions
SPEAKER_03great to have you here on AgSquawk. How are you today?
SPEAKER_00Good. Thanks for having me. I looked back, and the last time I was on here was beginning of March. So we've gone through planting season up here, going into harvest. And that was with Tommy. That was with Tommy, yes.
SPEAKER_03Let's, you know what? I've I've got a little blurb here that I ripped from your website to kind of give us an overview of what Field Force does. And I do want to get to that. But you come from a farming background. You were just talking about the farm there. You were now we're on the other side of planting on your farm. Tell us about your operation. Tell us about your experience in farming. Did you grow up on a farm?
SPEAKER_00I did, yes. In rural North Dakota, outside of a town, about 300 people. And then my husband farms with his brother in northwestern Minnesota. So both farms are about an hour from each other. So it's I've been surrounded by egg my whole life. So it's been fun.
SPEAKER_03Well, and you're up in North Dakota. Help us help us orient generally where you're at in the state. You must be obviously close to the Minnesota border.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. So I'm located in Grand Forks, North Dakota. So Grand Forks, East Grand Forks, that's the river that separates us and Minnesota. So northeastern North Dakota.
SPEAKER_03And Field Force N D, as in North Dakota, Fieldforcen D.com is where we can find out more information on what you and I are really going to focus our conversation on there today. But uh how how has the farming experience been for you just personally on your operation? How do the crops look this year? How are we how are we holding up?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so North Dakota, Minnesota, a lot of areas are very dry. And just in my communication with my clients, I get you know pieces of where they're at. So very dry in this area. I think my husband and brother-in-law are getting more into the wheat starting yesterday a little bit. So we'll see how everything is. But yeah, it's been overall in this area pretty dry. Some good spots, it's seem spotty. I think. I don't know if that's that's the right word or what others would think in the area, but it's dry. There's some good spots, but it's really, I'd say overall dry around here. Some clients that I've talked to, I mean wheat crops that are 50 bushels an acre that are normally on 100 bushel ground. So if that doesn't say say something, yeah. So and that's that's tough to hear. So, you know, it's it can be up and down. You want those up years where you know the markets are good, the crops good, but that doesn't always happen. So you just have to power through to the next season.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah. That's uh one of the things the farmers do best, isn't it?
SPEAKER_00Yep, yep.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, for sure. All right. Well, I did promise I was going to to read just a little bit by way of introduction into field force, and then we'll kind of work our way through it nice and slowly because uh I, like many people, sort of understand what an H2A is, but you know, uh like I said earlier, I could I could spell it in a spelling B, probably on a good day. So we'll dig deeper into it. But Field Force is a North Dakota-based ag workforce partner specializing in H2A filings and compliance. We work directly with farm owners across the U.S. to manage paperwork timelines and recruiter coordination, providing clear, reliable support through every season. As farmers ourselves, we understand the challenges of running a farm and strive to help other farmers succeed. That's fieldforce nd.com. We've established your farm cred, maxie. Clearly, you you've got uh you got dirt on your boots and you know what you're talking about here. So let's let's begin with just a chat about H2As. We can go as shallow or as deep as you want to go on a definition. What
H-2A Basics And H-2B Difference
SPEAKER_03is an H2A? Let's start there.
SPEAKER_00Sure. So H2A is specific to egg. So only farms, egg-related employers can hire H2A workers. So it allows egg employers to hire temporary workers when they're unable to recruit US domestic workers. So that's kind of a brief of what the H2A program is and who's able to utilize it. And then it's a very complex process. There'll there's a lot of rules and regulations around the program and getting certified to be able to utilize the workers. So a farm can't just call me up and say, hey, I need five guys for harvest next week. Can I get them? There's a process that they have to go through from start to finish until the worker comes here and then follow the rules throughout while they're the workers here.
SPEAKER_03Okay. Now there's also an H2B program. You say the H2A is specific to agriculture, but uh since the other one is H2B, I don't know. At first I was like, oh, well, the A must be for agriculture. How does an H2A differ from an H2B?
SPEAKER_00Sure. So I'm not as familiar with H2B. I don't do those filings, but H2B is non-ag. It's still a temporary need, but there's like a lodge in Minnesota that gets H2B workers every year for their season. So it's it's non-ag, but it's still temporary. There's still approval processes that the businesses have to go through to employ H2B workers.
SPEAKER_03So I think generally are we safe if we think along the lines of maybe seasonal construction or maybe landscaping or or things like that. These are because both the A and the B are seasonal, correct?
SPEAKER_00Yes, correct. Yep.
SPEAKER_03Okay, very good. I'm I'm curious about how you got started in this. Sure. Was this something that you had experience with it? You know, the innovation often comes as a solution to a problem that once had in their own life. I wonder if if this is just an
Why Field Force Exists
SPEAKER_03idea that you had. How did you arrive arrive with your experience in the H2As?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so I'm a nurse by background. I was a chief clinical officer at a hospital in Western North North Dakota before I met Scott and then moved here. Continued nursing. They've used H2A workers on their farm for over 15 years, so it's been nothing new. So I've been surrounded by it since them. My dad and brother have utilized the program for gosh 10, 10 years, 10 plus years, I want to say. And it was probably five years ago we had talked about it and just the need and how the program is growing. And a lot of local people want to talk to someone that can relate or that understands. So I've been surrounded by it for a number of years. I have the egg background. So the farm talk isn't new to me. And then having the nursing background, but I also at one point supervise 200 travel nurses. So a little bit of similarities, a lot of stories to share, I'm sure, of you know, employee-related items, but the need for labor and how important it is, and to have someone that they can they as of my clients can pick up the phone and call, they can reach out, and you know, I can relate with them and an experiences we've had on our own farm. So that's kind of how it got started. Probably is a little, a little bit random, but it doesn't feel like that at the same time. So yeah.
SPEAKER_03So uh and your your nursing career, did I hear you right? Your nursing career continues alongside that as well.
SPEAKER_00Yes, I still do some PRN work to keep up my license in that regard.
SPEAKER_03So I I guess I gotta ask, you know, we're talking about compliance, and I want to get to what does a farm have to do to achieve compliance, but there are there's all sorts of it sounds very complicated and a very form-rich environment, a lot of papers and things. You do you just do you have a knack for paperwork? You love filling out paperwork and forms and stuff? Is that is that uh what the deal is?
SPEAKER_00I don't mind it, but I think it's more of the the end game and the purpose of it, and that you know, farms really need the labor. So many farms rely on the program because there's people or the domestic workers they can't find. A lot of the rural areas, even not very rural, a lot of the a lot of people don't want to work in egg or do this kind of work because you know, the long hours, the weekends, you know, you might be off one day because of rain, but then you have to, you know, get up at 5 a.m. the next day because the wind is right and you can spray. So a lot of people don't want to do that kind of work anymore. So this is, you know, between all the paperwork, the goal of, you know, I need someone to help on my farm to continue the operation, grow the operation. That's the goal. So if I have to do paperwork to get there, yeah, that's what I do.
SPEAKER_03Do you deal with with some sort of liaison? I mean, like a language barrier potential comes to mind. I don't know if you speak a couple of different languages or not, but you there must be somebody that you get in touch with who finds these people, who finds qualified applicants who who qualify for this program as workers. Can you can you touch on how that works briefly?
SPEAKER_00Yes. So most of my farms have return workers, which is the goal for a lot of farms, is that they have a worker, you know, they get used to your operation, they know where the you know section is when you're telling telling them to go to Bernie's, whatever, you know, just an example. They know they know what you're talking about. So a lot of farms, that's their goal is to have workers that return to their farm. So a lot of them will just send me the list of who they're wanting to return. And then I work with foreign recruiters that are in other countries that source the workers, the farms, interview, look at their profile, and then the recruiter helps the worker on their end for the process that they have to go to. So, no, I don't speak a lot of different languages. I wish I did, but yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Okay. Okay. When we're when we're talking about the farmer and and those who hire these sorts of workers here, there are some pretty strict regulations that that the operation has to adhere to as well, right? I mean, they can't just bring in a bunch of dudes on the cheap and you know, I mean, they've got to keep it equal with with uh the the local workforce that they've already got going. In some cases, I suppose, probably provide
Compliance Rules Farms Must Follow
SPEAKER_03housing and and food and stuff. Can you talk about some of those items that that are required of an operation who wants to utilize this program?
SPEAKER_00Sure. There's a lot of regulations associated with the H2A. And I would say most of the farms, if not all the farms that I work with, have local domestic workers, and then they need beyond that to fill their labor shortages. So, first, if it's a farm that's utilized, utilizing the program for the first time, it usually seems a little bit more kind of paperwork sort of things when they're, you know, learning all that goes into it. But some of the main items for compliance is housing. Housing has to be provided and it's approved housing. So whether it's a state inspection, and usually that's what it is. A lot of my farms have properties that maybe they didn't use, or they'll rent an apartment. So there's inspections that have to go into that for approved housing. And then each state has the Department of Labor sets the wage rates for each state based on two skill levels. So they have to pay the wage rates that's decided on. And then transportation, you have to provide transportation to get the worker to the job site. Most of my farms have a vehicle that the worker is driving back and forth. And then transportation. So the like the flight into the farm. And then once the work contract's completed, then they're outbound transportation. So there's a lot more beyond that, but those are some of the main items that go into the H2A.
SPEAKER_03Okay. You mentioned it earlier how you can't have people just calling you and saying, hey, I need, you know, some help. I need about five people to come help me out at the end of this week. The the potential employees need to have a, you know, go through a whole I'm sure they have a whole bunch of hoops to jump through and all sorts of things. But those farmers do too, right? They've they've got paperwork to fill out, they've got approvals to meet and such. Roughly how long does it does it take? If I called you today and wanted to be a part of your program and do some hiring through your service, roughly how long does it take to get me from I want to do this to suddenly I'm in compliance and I'm qualified?
SPEAKER_00Sure. So the filing, the earliest that I could file a job order is what I'll call it. That kind of starts the chain of events to get the job certified, can only be filed 60 to 75 days prior. To the work start date. However, say you're a brand new farm and you thought you had someone hired, it fell through. And now you need, you know, less than that 60 days prior. We can do an emergency application and we have to submit the reasoning and all that has to get approved. But a normal filing, you know, it's 60 to 75 days before the start date. So like for March 2027, I'll be working with farms in the fall for their spring help to get everything ready to file. So I think my record on getting a job order certified was eight days. Wow. Before we could file. So that was an emergency one. The farm, you know, was really on top of getting me their documents. So the state has to approve of it. You have to get the job order certified. And then we have to petition for the worker to come here. So those are kind of simple overview of the steps that it has to go through. And I try iron for the fire.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00As easy as I can for the farms when they're filing.
SPEAKER_03So oh, this is this is fascinating. Maxie Field is my guest today. I I guess one more question that I might have on this, and we're getting way into the weeds. I'm very interested by this though. Uh, once a a farm has employed H2A workers and has been in compliance, if they want to do it again next year, do they have to go through the entire process again, or is there some sort of renewal sort of a thing that maybe kind of cuts out a little bit of takes a few of those irons out of the fire for you?
SPEAKER_00Sure. They do have to go through that same process every year. There's a few documents maybe like the first time filings. We have to provide the DOL their EIN confirmation sheet. And then after that, we don't have to resubmit that. But you know, workers' comp policies usually have to be renewed annually. So we have to submit a lot of the same documents year over year.
SPEAKER_03Okay. Okay. Interesting. So it sounds like it's a pretty tightly regulated process that uh that it really helps out to have someone like you who's a professional who knows the ins and outs to help help people out with this, isn't it?
SPEAKER_00Yes, yeah. And I have an attorney that specializes in H2A. So he's been very resourceful and is kind of my go-to as I have questions that come up since it is highly regulated. The DOL wage an hour can audit farms at any time. So it's important to arm the farms also to make sure that they're compliant and and aware.
Audits And Staying Organized
SPEAKER_03How common are those are those audits? I'm just curious.
SPEAKER_00So there can be on-site where they show up at the farm and then they can like request documents where you know you have to submit everything. I'm not sure how common it is. I know a couple people that have been audited. Okay. So it is, I mean, they look at pay stubs and housing and all the things.
SPEAKER_03Wow. Sounds like the kind of thing where you'd want to you'd want to keep your files in order.
SPEAKER_00Yes. Yes. And it takes me back to my hospital days for all those joint commission surveys that I had to go through. I mean, totally separate thing, but at the same time, you know, you have to make sure you're compliant and and do everything that you can in that regard.
SPEAKER_03Okay. Well, well, thank you for walking me through that. I know a lot of questions, but that was that was a very good explanation. I feel like I I know a little bit here now, at least more than I did when we started. Let's let's kind of make it real. Let's paint a scenario. A group of of H2A workers comes in. Let's say a a beet farmer needs some help, and so they're there. Help him get it planted, but uh sure enough, they grow, and pretty soon he's gonna need to to harvest those beets. Do those same workers kind of follow that that crop through the entire season? Because there's got to be a lag in there when you know there's there's really not a ton of stuff to do. You've super intensive to plant, super intensive to harvest. What happens in the meantime?
SPEAKER_00Sure, sure. I'm sure if there's farms watching this, they they can probably relate. But yes, so when the workers come over, their visa is specific for
Worker Transfers And Seasonal Lulls
SPEAKER_00your farm, for example. So they can only work for your farm if you're the one that's petitioned for them and on the visa. There's a work contract date. So say it's March 1st through November 1st. So they should be at your farm for that duration. Around so planting, it's usually very busy. There are in the job orders the hours per week. So whether it's 40 or 48, that has to be specified in the job order. But yes, in that kind of middle area, and I feel like we are just coming off of it, getting it into harvest. Sometimes the workers can get squirmy, I'll call it. And it's kind of trying to think of something I could relate it to the transfer portal with college athletics, is you know, you bring someone in and they're really good, they're really talented, they get, you know, experience on your team, but then they have this offer somewhere else. And workers can transfer to other farms. There's certain things that have to be followed in order for that to happen. But yes, in the last couple of weeks, I've talked to a few farms, not necessarily my clients, where they've had people up and leave and go to other farms. And a lot of it, you know, they say is the hours, even though they might be getting their 40 hours, they're wanting more and someone else has something to offer. So that I mean, that can happen in any work setting, is that you know, someone leaves to go work for someone else, but it's hard when you've, you know, paid for someone to come here and you know you've had all the hours for them, and then they maybe just up and leave during harvest. So that is sometimes a challenge for farms during that kind of it's not an off season, but that time where it might be a little lull, or maybe it's you know been really wet or the weather, you know, you just you never know. But that's when it's important to keep your pulse on on the workforce. Sometimes it it doesn't work, but it's important to keep keep your pulse on the workforce to make sure. So that has been something that that comes up. I don't know if the transfer portal was was a good makes sense.
SPEAKER_03That I can that I can understand. Yes.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, well done.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_00And you know, yeah, go on in the in these areas where you have your local people, usually, you know, they're established in those communities and they're not going to move across country to work for another farm. They might, but probably not. Whereas, you know, a lot of the workers, there's opportunities everywhere, even though they're here on that visa, they can transfer. So that is something kind of in that in-between season or in but in the middle of the season, maybe a little lull. That's some it's a reality that that farms face with the program.
SPEAKER_03Did I read somewhere that H2As in the US are valid in Canada? Can they go and work up in Canada if they want to?
SPEAKER_00So Canada can get H2A workers.
SPEAKER_01Okay, okay.
SPEAKER_00I think I'm saying that right, but yes, they can like go from their home country to there on the program.
SPEAKER_01Okay, okay.
SPEAKER_00Yes, I don't have any clients in Canada.
SPEAKER_03All right, all right, good. So we talked about that sort of weird kind of limbo land where a worker may decide to go somewhere else between planting and harvest. What happens after harvest? Do those workers all have to go back to their home country for for that extended off season? Or I guess my a simpler way to ask it is what's the ceiling? How long can an H2OA worker stay in this country before before they're required to go touch base back home?
SPEAKER_00Sure. So when they come over, say it's the first season, they come here in March and the the work contract is through that November 1st, and that's what their visa is, that's what they've been approved for. They have so long, or once that work contract ends, they cannot work past that unless extension is requested. A worker can say harvest gets done here, and there's a cattle farm that has like a winter contract for their calving season, the worker could transfer to that other job and work during that time, and they would get new documentation that approves them for that farm for that time period. Okay. So if a worker does that, say they go back and forth, they could potentially stay in the US for three years before they would have to go back to their home country for 60 days, and then it would reset the status. So then they could come back and potentially stay in the US working on approved job orders for another three years.
SPEAKER_03So that could get them back, spend their 60 days after after having worked for three years, go back, spend 60 days in their home country, and then still be back in time for planting the next year. Am I hearing that right?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, okay. And a lot of our crew does go back home. They get back home, we file again, it's planting, and then a lot of them come back. And some people get workers for you know, just their harvest season, for example. So it kind of depends what the operation needs, but it's seasonal, so they're usually here less than 10 months. And for like growth perspective on the program, since 2021, there's been a 25% increase
How Long Workers Can Stay
SPEAKER_00in utilization of the H2A job certifications. And so far this year, I believe it's a little over 250,000 certified jobs. So it's if it keeps with that pace, it will be another record year for H2A certified jobs.
SPEAKER_03How much of that is related to farm kids moving to town? Have you noticed you have an opinion on that at all?
SPEAKER_00It was sort of a weird question, but no, no, I think it's valid. I think you know, a lot of farms that I talk to, they want their kids to go to college and they leave for college and maybe they're not able to help out as much. So that I've come across multiple times. I do think people maybe don't realize a lot of farms, especially in this time, have other sources of income that they are relying on to keep the operations going and they need the help because they're not always there to do it. I would say most of my farms have another income source. And when it's difficult markets or crops, they are relying on those other sources of income to operate their farm and to to keep it going. Yeah. So I think that's another kind of perspective to look at. And it uh you know, all depends on the farm. But yes, I think you know, uh a lot of kids are going off to college, some come back to the farm, some are trying to manage a job and the farm. So that's my thoughts on that.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, interesting. Okay. Just one more question, and then I then I want to get on, get into the the minimum wage has been changed by the Department of Labor. I want to get into that next, but just one more question over sort of all of this. I'm curious. Do you work more with with crop farmers or with livestock farmers? Or is there an either or what would you say the the breakdown is there? Is it about half and half?
SPEAKER_00It's crop farms, is primarily okay.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_00And in currently my clients are pretty much all in the Midwest. All crop farms. I have one their dairy operation, but they grow their crops for feed and market. So they utilize the program in that regard. And that's another thing. Dairies for milking purposes, as it stands now, cannot use H2A workers because the milking is year-round, unless I think it's called the New Zealand method. Have you heard of that? I have I think it's like a seasonal milking thing, which I don't think many people do. But so for like my dairy, they can't use H2A labor for their milking specifically. But yes, most of my farms are crop farms.
SPEAKER_03I'm gonna write that down. The New Zealand Yeah, that's our homework.
SPEAKER_00We have to look it up.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah. Very good. Just just off the top of your head, the the top two most popular crops that your that your clients need help with, what would they be?
SPEAKER_00Corn and beans.
SPEAKER_03Corn and beans, really? Okay.
SPEAKER_00Huh. Yep. Interesting. I mean, yeah. Because I was thinking overall, yes, corn and beans.
SPEAKER_03Beets is has got to be pretty labor intensive. I'm just well, I guess I'm just stuck on on beets. Maybe it would beets be number three, perhaps? I don't even know.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I would say uh probably top five wheat, corn, beans, beets.
SPEAKER_03Okay, okay. Very good.
SPEAKER_00Well, let's usually for beet harvest, more workers are coming in during that harvest time because it is so labor intensive with the 24 seven digging.
SPEAKER_03Do you eat beets? I don't know when's the last time I ate a beet. Maybe on a salad when I wasn't paying attention. Do you eat beet?
SPEAKER_00Well, there's a difference. There's the sugar beet and then there's the red beet.
SPEAKER_03Well, I suppose, yeah. Yeah. Because the uh the sugar beet is processed into sugar. Isn't most of the sugar in the United States actually from beet sugar? Did somebody tell me that once? Is that true? I don't even know.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Yeah. All right.
SPEAKER_00I know I'm buying crystal sugar in this household and baking and the and flour from the North Dakota Mill. So good for you.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Gotta support local. You gotta do it. You gotta do it. There's been a recent upgrade for the minimum wage for H2A workers from the Department of Labor. What can you tell us about that?
SPEAKER_00So August 3rd, the DOL
AWER Wage Update And Farm Math
SPEAKER_00releases a new, it's called AWER, the adverse effect wage rate for all states. So each state has their minimum wage, and then it's separated into skill level one and skill level two. So it applies to H2A workers and then US workers in the corresponding role. So overall, there's a separate kind of farm labor contractor certification, like custom harvesters can get that they need a surety bond for, for example. And the average wage rate for that calculation went down a little bit. But then overall, each state kind of had their own change. So there's a few states that maybe went down 1%. North Dakota, for example, their skill one rate went up 16%. So it was kind of variable across all states. So when that changes, if you're unless you're in there's a selected group of states, that it goes into effect August 17th, but August 3rd, farms had to look at their wage rates, what they're paying their current workers, and then adjust accordingly. So if your job order, for example, is $15 an hour and your state that minimum for skill one, let's say you went down to 14 and that's what your job is, you don't go down in your wage rate. You have to pay what's in your job order. However, if your wage goes up in your state for that minimum and your job order states less, you have to go up. Okay. That's kind of how it works. And you know, for some growers, I don't have clients that have, you know, hundreds of workers or thousands, but there are some of those orchards that have hundreds, thousands of H2A workers. So, you know, that can really impact their their you know profit on the crop if there's a big fluctuation in the wage. Yeah. Let's see, simple math, if it goes up a dollar and you have a hundred workers and they're working 40 hours a week, that's four thousand dollars a week. So when you put it in real numbers like that, it can be can be impactful.
SPEAKER_03So absolutely indeed. Talk to us about the securing ag workforce act, SAWA or sewa, introduced by the House Ag Committee there. What is this, what does this aim to do?
SPEAKER_00Sure.
SAWA Proposal And What Changes
SPEAKER_00So that was introduced recently. It's potential or proposed legislation, nothing that's you know, in legal right now or has been passed. It's just potential, but it's updated some of the H2A rules to make it more accessible to farms like dairies, like we talked about. If it were to be updated and kind of go along with what's proposed, it would be that workers could be here for up to 355, 350 days. So, you know, dairies could potentially utilize the program. So it would be more accessible to those year-round operations. What else is there with with the act? Trying to make it not as much of an administrative burden because there is a lot of administrative things that go into it. And then in there also some items that involve the wages, so they're more stable and can't fluctuate, you know, the 16% potentially. So there's a few things that would impact the program if that were to be passed. Again, it's all just proposed and being talked about, but a few things that would be positive for the egg world. Um, and again, if things get past, you know, the current setup has to support if there's any, you know, influx of a lot of employers that can now utilize the program. So that I'm I'm keeping a watch on on what's happening with that.
SPEAKER_03Well, I hope I hope one day maybe uh you can uh you can update us. Yes, yes. That would be that would be cool to keep an eye on. Fieldforce nd.com. That's i before e. Fieldforce nd.com. Probably too late if a uh if an operation needs some workers for harvest, unless there's an emergency, right?
SPEAKER_00Yes, yeah, unless there's emergency depends where the harvest is.
SPEAKER_03But yeah. All right. Very good. Well, once again, that is field force in the maxi field. Uh let's uh let's move on. Let's let's get a little backyard itis here. I'm I'm curious if you're gonna look out your window. Currently I'm sitting at ninety seven degrees. I've got an extreme heat warning down
Weather Fun History And Sign-Off
SPEAKER_03here in Kansas City, USA. I'm right in the middle of town. I love it down here. It's the the Constantinople of the Midwest, if you ask me. You're up in Grand Forks. What's the weather look like outside your your window today? Is it nice?
SPEAKER_00It's nice. It's 80, sunny, not really any breeze. I think there's maybe some rain forecasted around here, but we'll see.
SPEAKER_03Sounds like you'd be glad to get it. You've been dry up there. I was talking to a dude from uh Fargo, and he was talking about how how dry it's been. You guys have been dry there as well, haven't you?
SPEAKER_00Yes. Yep. It has been dry. I actually had a couple farms that were gonna get some workers or try and get certified and approved to get workers, and they just said we're not gonna have much of a crop this year, so we're not going to file. So it's been dry in a lot of people.
SPEAKER_03Just been heck with it. That's that's the end of that. Huh? Yep. Wow. Wow. Well, according to the National Weather Service, severe thunderstorms with damaging wind gusts will be possible from the mid-Mississippi Valley into parts of the Ohio Valley. The big blue and purple smear there looks like it's uh the bullseye's southern Ohio. Heavy rain associated with these storms may lead to considerable flash and urban flooding impacts across portions of the Ohio Valley. Midsummer heat persists from the central plains to the southeast. And with that, I'm hoping that I can interest you, uh, Maxie, in a few items of mild interest from this day in history, August 11. Are you ready? I'm ready. All right. Eight or 18. 1929. Babe Ruth became the first baseball player to hit 500 home runs in his career with a home run at League Park in Cleveland, Ohio. There you go, Guillermo. We got the next one there. 1942, actress Hetty Lamar and musician George Antheel received a patent for a frequency hopping communication system, which later became the basis for modern technologies like wireless telephones and Wi-Fi. There's a pretty cool documentary out there on Hetty Lamar. Any any chance you've had a chance to check that out at all? Are you familiar with Hetty Lamar?
SPEAKER_00I haven't. No. Ought to put that on my to-do next to the New Zealand method.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, exactly. I'm gonna write that down too. Although I have seen the Hetty Lamar thing. She was uh kind of an actress, and uh ever everybody just sort of thought, oh, well, whatever. And then she came up with this communication system uh during the war that helped save American lives in the war and also still has elements of it that we still use in modern Wi-Fi today. Hetty Lamar. That was in 1942. In 1953, Hulk Hogan was born. American wrestling.
SPEAKER_00Hulk Hogan.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah. And and finally, before I cut you loose, I have to do this because I do it to everybody. It it's not just you, Maxie, but we've come up to today's egg bowl injustice.
SPEAKER_02Your Honor, I object.
SPEAKER_03The idea is that I ask you something completely unfair and just see if you can answer it just for fun, because that's that's how I get my kicks towards the end of the show. If you're ready, your challenge today in 1984, well before your time, but in 1984, this song was a number one hit on August 11th by Ray Parker Jr. Your challenge is to complete the lyric. Are you ready? Are you ready? Complete the lyric. If there's something strange in your neighborhood, who are you going to call? Ghostbusters. Ghostbusters is right! Ghostbusters is right. You have risen to the challenge. I'm so proud of you. Maxie Field. She waves off the injustice, the exploitation, the unfairitude of it all. This day, uh August 11, Ghostbusters hit hit number one. Maxi Field of Field Force. We've had a great time today, and I've learned a heck of a lot. I'm hoping that you'll come in and uh come back for us and check in on that securing egg workforce act when we when we get any information on that. I'm fascinated by this whole thing. I know I asked a lot of goofy, sort of granular questions, but uh I had a lot to learn, and I really appreciate you taking some time. You're very patient with me today, Maxie. I appreciate it.
SPEAKER_00Thanks for having me.
SPEAKER_03Fieldforcen D.com. That's fieldforcende.com. And may I direct you to agbol.com. You can dig deeper with AgBull Intel. Take your marketing by the horns with Agbol. Visit Agbol.com or call 855-737 Farm. That's 855-737FA, followed by RM for more details. Jed Sidwell will have the morning calls bright and early tomorrow. I'll be talking land with Paul Shadeg from Farmers National Company. For Jed, Joe, Lindsay, and Guillermo, it's Davis Michelson saying thank you for being here. And I'll see you tomorrow afternoon for more Ag Squawk.
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