Labor Management Workshops and Webinars

GAPC offers Labor Management Webinars and Workshops in partnership with other organizations to offer GAPC Grower Members and non-members the opportunity to learn more about best practices and resources related to labor management and labor sourcing.  Below you will find the current list of events.

 

Podcast "Let's Talk About Labor" 

We are proud to announce the launch of “Let’s Talk About Labor.”  A podcast to help you connect with farmers to hear about their experiences using various US temporary foreign visa programs to address their labor needs.

The podcast is a collaborative effort between GAP Connections and the University of Tennessee Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics.

Episode 1: Farmer Experiences with the H-2A Program
In this episode, George McDonald, owner of Catesa Farms, and Bart Gilmer, one of the owners of Falcon Ridge Farm, will talk about their general experience with the H-2A program. The H-2A temporary agricultural program, also called the H-2A visa program, is a program that allows U.S. agricultural employers experiencing a shortage of domestic workers to fill seasonal or temporary jobs with foreign nonimmigrant workers. (April 2024).

Episode 2: H-2A Worker Housing: The Practical Things I Need to Know Before Considering the H-2A Program
In this episode, George McDonald, owner of Catesa Farms, and Bart Gilmer, one of the owners of Falcon Ridge Farm, will talk about housing requirements related to the H-2A program. Employers of H-2A workers must provide housing at no cost to workers. If the employer decides to secure rental accommodations, such as apartments, hotels, or motels, the employer is required to pay all housing-related charges directly to the housing management. Employer-provided or secured housing must meet all applicable safety standards. Housing costs include repairs, water testing, and utilities if the employer is providing housing on-site instead of securing rental accommodations. In Tennessee, the type of housing provided by employers to H-2A workers varies greatly depending on the number of workers. (May 2024).

Episode 3: H-2A Worker Transportation: Practical Things I Need to Know Before Considering the H-2A Program  In this episode, George McDonald, owner of Catesa Farms, and Bart Gilmer, one of the owners of Falcon Ridge Farm, will talk about the inbound and outbound transportation of H-2A workers. There are costs associated with workers traveling from their home country to the work site and back to their country, including transportation and subsistence costs. There are also costs related to workers’ transportation for traveling to and from the living quarters, the grocery store, and the bank. These costs will vary depending on the worker’s country of origin, mode of transportation, distance to the grocery store and bank, and distance from the living quarters to the worksite. In this episode, we will only talk about inbound and outbound transportation. (June 2024).

Episode 4: H-2A Program Housing Requirements In this episode, Lance Butler from the Tennessee Department of Labor will talk about housing requirements under the H-2A visa program and housing options.  Butler oversees four programs in Tennessee, including the H-2A and H-2B visa programs, the Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker program, and the Senior Community Service Employment program.
(July 2024).

Episode 5: H-2A Program Housing Inspections In this Episode, Lance Butler from the Tennessee Department of Labor will talk about housing inspections under the H-2A visa program.  Butler oversees four programs in Tennessee, including the H2A and H2B visa programs, the Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker program, and the Senior Community Service Employment Program. (August 2024)

Episode 6: Tobacco and Row Crop Growers' Experience with the H-2A Program In this episode, Jackie Edwards, co-owner of Corn Silk Farms LLC, a grain farm in Middle Tennessee, Joey Knight, from Joey Knight Farm, a tobacco and cattle farm in Middle Tennessee, and Dalton Armstrong, from Armstrong Tobacco Farms, will discuss their general experience with the H-2A program. (September 2024).

Episode 7: Tobacco and Row Crop Growers' Experience with H-2A Worker Housing In this episode, Jackie Edwards, co-owner of Corn Silk Farms LLC, a grain farm located in Middle Tennessee, Joey Knight, from Joey Knight Farm, a tobacco and cattle farm located in Middle Tennessee, and Dalton Armstrong, from Armstrong Tobacco Farms, a tobacco and cattle farm, will talk about their experience with providing housing for H-2A workers. Jackie will talk specifically about her unique experience employing and housing H-2A workers from different countries. (October 2024).

Episode 8: Labor Challenges and Strategies to Overome These Challenges In this episode, Terry Hines, owner of Hale & Hines Nursery, will talk about labor challenges he has faced in his operation and strategies he has used to overcome those challenges, including strategies he has used to improve worker retention. (November 2024).

Episode 9: Mechanization as a Strategy to Overcome Labor Challenges In this episode, Terry Hines, owner of Hale & Hines Nursery, will talk about his experience using mechanization as a strategy to address labor challenges in his operation. (December 2024).

Episode 10: Labor Challenges and Strategies to Overcome These Challenges – Lessons Learned by a Small-Scale Specialty Crop Farm in East Tennessee  In this episode, Dana Ensore, owner of Grand Oak Farm and president of Green Earth Connections, will discuss labor challenges faced by small-scale farms and strategies for overcoming these challenges. (January 2025).

Episode 11: Farm Internships as a Source of Labor for Small-Scale Farm Operations In this episode, Dana Ensor, owner of Grand Oak Farm and president of Green Earth Connection, and Dr. Annette Wszelaki, professor in the Department of Plant Sciences and the commercial vegetable Extension specialist at the University of Tennessee, will discuss their experiences with farm internship programs. (February 2025).

Episode 12: Labor Challenges and Strategies to Oversome These Challenges - Lessons Learned by a Landscaping Business in Tennessee  In this episode, John Puryear, owner of Puryear Farms, will discuss labor challenges he has faced in his landscaping business and the strategies he has used to overcome those challenges. (March 2025).

 

Tennessee

Labor Considerations for Tennessee Farmers: Strategies for Securing and Managing Agricultural Labor

This series of workshops addressed financial, legal and human risks facing farmers and agribusinesses that have labor-intensive enterprises requiring hired agricultural labor. The goal of the workshops were to inform participants on the options available for sourcing agricultural labor, costs associated with those options, the legal and regulatory requirements of those options, and best practices for managing labor and maintaining compliance with applicable agricultural labor laws and regulations. 

Speakers Included:

• Grower Panel comprised of Tennessee Farmers using H-2A or migrant Labor
• US Department of Labor Wage & Hour Division
• TN Department of Labor & Workforce Development
• TN Bureau of Workers' Compensation
• Labor Compliance Consultants
• GAP Connections
• University of Tennessee Agricultural & Resource Economics
• University of Tennessee Extension

 

 Workshop Presentation (click the link to view the speaker presentations)

 

Publication W1206: The H-2A Visa Program in Tennessee: General Overview 
(click the link to view the pdf)