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By Mark Magnuson, Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network

The calls for modernizing the H-2A program for temporary agricultural workers continue to be heard across the spectrum of agriculture. The worker visa program has seen some recent adjustments to calculating the Adverse Effect Wage Rate which is seen as an improvement to the program. However, Enrique Gastelum, CEO of the Worker and Farmer Labor Association, says the AEWR is not the only issue that needs to be examined and addressed.

Gastelum says the costs add up quickly, making affordability difficult.

Gastelum points to the H-2B program, which is seasonal labor, no more than ten months, in non-ag-related fields, as a potential roadmap for the H-2A program and housing costs.

Gastelum says this gives foreign guest workers a competitive advantage with domestic workers, who spend an estimated 40-50 percent of their paycheck on housing costs.