From California to Maine and from Florida to Washington State, the U.S. ag industry is dealing with labor challenges. This especially holds true for the dairy industry.
With work visas becoming more common in dairy, Miguel Rangel, DVM, recently addressed how to bring skilled professionals to a dairy farm using a visa program on a recent I-29 Moo University dairy webinar.
Rangel is the owner and operator of Optimum Dairy Consulting and Recruiting, specializing in maximizing profits in dairy operations and the recruiting of skilled professionals. Before that, he spent 16 years working in various aspects of the dairy industry, including managing the Iowa State Dairy Farm from 2018 to 2021.
As more dairies face labor challenges, the need for extra help on a farm is evident and Rangel, a past visa recipient, says that government-issued visas can help fulfill that labor need. The perks for visa employees are:
- Stability
- The ability to come and work in the U.S.
- The ability to come to the U.S. legally and work on farms.
“So that’s a win-win,” he says.
Due to a lack of workers in the U.S. after World War II, visa programs began.
“So, the government said ‘Okay, let’s bring temporary workers from Mexico, South America Central America, the Philippines,’” Rangel shared, adding that no degree is required for these foreign workers to apply for a visa to come into the U.S. and work.
The nonimmigrant NAFTA Professional (TN) visa allows citizens of Canada and Mexico, as NAFTA professionals, to work in the U.S. in prearranged business activities for U.S. or foreign employers.
“One of those benefits was the U.S. would hire temporary professionals from Mexico,” Rangel says. “But it’s very important to remember that TN visas are not only for Canada and Mexico.”
Strategic Steps
According to Rangel, producers need to strategically plan how to utilize visa employees for the work needed to be done on their farms.
“It’s always good to have that relationship between the employee, the team, and obviously the owner or the manager,” he says. “This is a new process that involves many steps and so these steps need to be in a coordinated manner. From the time you hire, you choose a candidate to fill out the paperwork, to schedule the interview, get the candidate into the U.S., so there are many things that need to happen.”
Optimum Roadmap
Rangel outlines a roadmap to get a visa employee:
- Discuss with your team the intention of hiring a foreign professional.
- Talk to your recruiter about the plans and requirements. Set a timeframe.
- Select a candidate and agree on terms. File forms, questionnaires and send the application.
- Send final documents required for the interview.
- Attend the interview. If approved, plan arrival, lodging and start date.
- Fill out W-4, I-9, obtain their social security number and begin the onboarding process.
To learn more about the application process, rights, and responsibilities of employers and employees, listen to the webinar at Webinars (i-29moou.com)
