Stay Informed

Navigating the federal H-2A program is a long and difficult process, but Indiana Farm Bureau members can get assistance through Great Lakes Ag Labor Services, which offers members assistance in navigating the program.

The H-2A program allows U.S. agricultural employers in need of seasonable labor to petition for nonimmigrant, foreign workers. Great Lakes Ag Labor Services (GLALS) was established by Michigan Farm Bureau in 2015, and INFB began a partnership with the company in 2020.

“It’s a pretty lengthy process, and the first years can be really overwhelming for farmers,” said Marissa Mikel, INFB regional manager for Elkhart, Lake, LaPorte, Porter, St. Joseph and Starke counties.

One member farm that has taken advantage of the service is Kercher’s Sunrise Orchards in Goshen, which grows and sells apples and peaches as well as produce crops including sweet corn, cabbage, broccoli, zucchini, winter squash and pumpkins, and also offers fall agritourism activities.

At Kercher’s, the workers do most of the field work, including weeding, planting, thinning of peach trees and harvesting, explained Bill Kercher.

“Great Lakes does everything from the beginning of the application process with the U.S. Department of Labor – recruiting, travel, everything – including training employees when they arrive,” Kercher said. They were also instrumental in writing the contract with the workers, which has to be prepared and sent to the DOL before they start work, he added, and GLALS can even provide translation services, when needed.

For more on Great Lakes Ag Labor Services LLC, visit www.infb.org/h2a or contact John Shoup of the Indiana Agricultural Law Foundation at 317-692-7801 or jshoup@infb.org.