April 2025 Crew and Farm Update

Our farm advertises both nationally and internationally for 45 workers to come join our crew! We offer a competitive wage of $18.15 an hour and even provide free housing. Yet, we have not received one domestic job applicant, which is why for the last 25 years, our farm has relied on the help of H2A workers from Mexico. Over the years, we have built a stellar crew of extremely dependable, capable, and hard-working people in which our farm depends on. Understanding that our H2A workers are an important component of our farm, we were not surprised when our CSA members, customers, and neighbors began asking for an update about them.

Considering the current political climate, many friends of the farm were curious to know whether new policies might affect our farm. Knowing that if we did not have field workers on farms, we would not have any food. I thought that the current “powers in charge” would certainly preserve the one legal entry for immigrant workers, the H2A visa program. Unfortunately, I was very wrong! For a long time now, there has been trouble brewing. With many different groups raising concerns that having H2A workers is equivalent to legal slave labor! Every year we welcome back the same crew members who choose to spend their summer with us here on the farm. However, the ever-changing flood of poorly thought-out new rules from DOL (Department of Labor), OSHA, Homeland Security, USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Service) and the state of Wisconsin DWD (Dept. of Workforce Development) has made the H2A process very difficult.

The process cannot be started any earlier than 75 days before our ‘Date of Need’ which is April 1^st. So, we submitted our two ETA 790 forms on Jan. 16^th. (We had to complete two applications because we have two truck drivers which means a second application is required). To submit the 790 applications to the Wisconsin DWD we use an online government website system called FLAG (Foreign Labor Application Gateway). Once we submit the 790, the DWD has seven days to approve or reject our application. Once approved, we go back to the FLAG system and fill out another form titled, Form ETA 9142A, to the Chicago DOL Center. They technically have 30 days before our “date of need” to respond. However, we found that typically the Chicago DOL will wait until our living quarters pass a housing inspection before responding/approving the application.

For our housing units to be granted approval, there is a list of requirements that must be met. In specific, the inspector looks to make sure that each bed has a mattress, a mattress cover, sheets, blankets, and a pillow with a pillow cover. The inspector then checks the kitchen to make sure there is a stove, multiple refrigerators, utensils, and cooking pots. Lastly, they make sure that each housing unit is fitted with a washer and dryer, has the capability to run both hot and cold water, has an up-to-date well water test, showcases the mandatory posting (including heat stress protocol), has enough smoke alarms, and screens for all the windows. We also make sure that each of our housing units have air conditioning even though it isn’t required. There were also a couple of new requirements this year. One new requirement was that we were expected to transition from first aid kits to a 19 item first aid station. Another was a fire marshal inspection which meant checking all our 16 fire extinguishers for an up-to-date inspection tag and ensuring that we have lighted exit signs. During the inspection process, we were instructed to remove perfectly good carpet from 3 bedrooms of one of our housing units. Carpeting is no longer an approved floor covering. After making these adjustments, we were able to pass our inspection on February 20th. This would mean that the next step of the process would be an approval of our applications from the Chicago DOL.

 Once we have a signed 9142 Form, we must fill out an I-129 form/application from the USCIS. This form, along with the H2A classification form is mailed to the USCIS via UPS who uses snail-mail. Yes, you read that correctly! They use snail-mail in this age of technology. On March 28th, we were finally approved for our main H2A crew. From there, we reached out to our colleague in Mexico, Omar, who arranges the consulate appointments for our crew. Unfortunately, with the delay in approval it meant that the earliest possible date for our crew to begin work would be the 1st of May, which was a full month after our original “date of need” of April 1st.

Thankfully, our crew will arrive in time for the harvest and packing of our first CSA box! In the meantime, we have had to make difficult decisions on what projects take priority for our small year-round crew. Our year-round crew has done an excellent job managing the greenhouse and transplanting production, but this is no small task and remaining on schedule with the other plantings is a must. For now, we have been focusing on digging up our overwintered parsnips and horseradish. We have also been able to get our first planting of greens, radishes, cilantro, and baby bok choi, tatsoi, spinach, and arugula in the ground! All thanks to the hard work of Rafael and his son Adrian, who have been putting in long days on the farm! Garlic is up and forked, but strawberries will soon need to be uncovered. This week we are prepping more fields for planting: beets, carrots, chard, peas, and burdock. We are also preparing to transplant onions, dandelions, and broccoli into the field. Our overwintered spinach is ready to harvest, and ramps will be ready soon. Even with the many challenges we have faced this season, we have made good progress, and through the support of our amazing Harmony Valley Farm community we will continue to do so.

Our first CSA box will include overwintered spinach and parsnips, ramps, chives, black radish, sunchoke, a bundle of willow branches and possibly asparagus, arugula, radishes, and mini head lettuce from our greenhouse tunnel. And our printer says our new CSA Calendar will be printed and ready for the first CSA boxes! We are very excited for this upcoming season, and we hope you are too!

–Richard deWilde