The first three quarters of 2024 saw over 300,000 agricultural workers enter the country through the H-2A program, which provides temporary visas for foreign workers to perform seasonal agricultural jobs. It is an important source of labor in the West, with California and Washington ranking third and fourth in the nation, respectively, for H-2A workers.

In this episode of the Progressive Dairy Podcast, host Kimmi Devaney visits with Kansas dairy producer Lee Holtmeier from Linn Willow Creek Dairy about their employee culture, what they do to mentor and empower employees, and how they keep employee turnover low. 

Studies have also determined that some 50% of feedyard workers are Latino. Combining the inherent risks of a feedyard with a language barrier that significantly hampers communication can set the stage for serious incidents and injuries.

Inflation, oil prices and Federal Reserve policy are the three prongs on the trident impacting agriculture.