Protracted dependence and unstable relations: Agrarian questions in the H-2A visa program1. (July 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Minkoff-Zern, Laura-Anne; Dudley, Mary Jo; Zoodsma, Anna; Walia, Bhavneet; Welsh, Rick
• Is Part Of: Journal of rural studies. Volume 93(2022)
• Page Start: 43
• Page End: 54
• Publication Date: 2022-07
• Subjects: Farm labor -- Agrarian questions -- Guestworkers -- Food policy; Sociology, Rural -- Periodicals; Country life -- Periodicals; Rural development -- Periodicals; Land use, Rural -- Planning -- Periodicals; Rural conditions -- Periodicals; Sociologie rurale -- Périodiques; Vie rurale -- Périodiques; Développement rural -- Périodiques; Sol, Utilisation agricole du -- Planification -- Périodiques; Conditions rurales -- Périodiques; Country life; Land use, Rural -- Planning; Rural conditions; Rural development; Sociology, Rural; Periodicals; 307.72
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jrurstud.2022.05.006
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0743-0167

Abstract

Abstract: Drawing on US Department of Labor data and a qualitative case study of New York state horticultural growers, this article explores farmers' experiences with the H-2A agricultural guestworker visa program. We found that the program is particularly challenging for small to mid-scale (moderate-sized) farmers due to its high costs and deeply bureaucratic structure, as well as its politically dependent, and therefore insecure, nature. These moderate-sized farmers, while the primary users of the program, are less likely than larger scale farmers to have the time and profit margin to easily navigate the program. Yet, as interviews make clear, farmers who use the H-2A program still feel that it is the best of their limited options for accessing reliable and experienced farm labor. Highlights: A growing portion of farmworkers in the US are arriving through the H-2A Visa Program. Little is understood about the H-2A program from a farmer perspective. The program sidelines insecurities that moderate-sized farmers are dealing with and furthers their already situation.