Specialty Crop Organizations Push for AEWR Transparency

Fri, 20 Jun 2025 13:19:21 GMT

Specialty crop groups in five states have come together to file a freedom of information request with the USDA to better understand how the agency calculates the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) that determines the minimum wages in each state for the H-2A guestworker program.

The effort is led by the North Carolina Sweetpotato Commission (NCSC) and the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association (GFVGA), whose members have faced sharp increases in AEWR in the last few years.

Chris Butts, executive vice president of GFVGA, says Georgia growers have seen a total of 31% in increases in AEWR during the last three years. And Michelle Grainger, executive director of NCSC, says growers in her state have seen an 18% rise in AEWR in the last three years.

“Any way you look at it and slice it, this has been a very challenging situation, and as our growers are continually faced with economic pressures for all their other input costs, to have over 40% of their balance sheets tied up in labor and not be able to know what that labor cost is going to be until mid-November, it’s hard to run a business that way as their first workers typically arrive in early February to the farm,” she says. “To not have transparency of how the [AEWR] algorithm is utilized to create a budget on what feels like very arbitrary rates that are sprinkled across the nation at different regions that don’t even make sense. Enough is enough.”

Butts says changes to Georgia’s immigration policy in the 2010s means specialty crop growers in the state utilize the H-2A program exclusively to meet labor needs.

“In the southeast, there is no fruit and vegetable production without the H-2A program because there is no other labor pool there,” he says. “A Vidalia onion is touched by hand six times during the planting through the harvest — the same for blueberry production, citrus production. Our growing industries are reliant on [H-2A labor], and until we develop technology for mechanization and automation to help our workers become efficient, we’re relying on this program.”

Granger agrees, noting sweetpotatoes are a labor-intensive crop, so mechanization is not a possibility for her growers.

“Any sweetpotato grower cannot have fresh sweetpotatoes on the market without hand-harvesting,” she says. “We also utilize labor to transplant. The crop that we have is labor-intensive from the moment we start growing seed, whether that be in the greenhouse or in a bedding field, to the moment it almost hits the truck on a case that’s going retail, food service, a consumer’s plate, etc.”

So far, the organizations that have signed on to the coalition include:

Alabama Farmers Federation
Alabama Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association
Alabama Nursery and Landscape Association
Blue Ridge Apple Growers Association
Georgia Agribusiness Council
Georgia Berry Exchange
Georgia Farm Bureau
Georgia Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association
Georgia Green Industry Association
Georgia Peach Council
Georgia Pecan Growers Association
Georgia Watermelon Association
International Fresh Produce Association
National Council of Agricultural Employers
North Carolina Apple Growers Association
North Carolina Chamber
North Carolina Christmas Tree Association
North Carolina Farm Bureau
North Carolina Growers Association
North Carolina Nursery & Landscape Association
North Carolina Strawberry Association
North Carolina Sweetpotato Commission
North Carolina Tomato Growers Association
North Carolina Vegetable Growers Association
North Carolina Watermelon Association
Michigan Asparagus Association
South Carolina Farm Bureau
South Carolina Peach Council
South Carolina Small Fruit Growers Association
Tobacco Growers Association of North Carolina

Granger and Butts say the coalition has communicated with representatives in Washington, D.C., to voice concerns about the rising AEWR rate and possibilities for ag labor reform. Granger says the diversity of the specialty crops helps drive home the need for changes.

“Our elected officials, regardless of what side of the aisle they may sit on, appreciate the value of agriculture and they appreciate that North Carolina is a state that has a lot of specialty crops,” she says. “Our coalition, when we filed — it has since grown — it was 30 organizations representing five states and 13 unique different crops, as well as eight different state and national member advocacy groups. That diversity really excited our representatives in Congress, because it gave them something more to talk about.”

Granger says a great way for those in the fresh produce industry to help communicate the coalition’s concerns is quite simple. Communicate with elected officials and community members about the vital role that agriculture has in this country.

“There’s a lot of people that we interact with, who don’t quite grasp how reliant we are on labor,” she says. “Not all of these people are not that terribly far removed from agriculture. I’m constantly amazed, but I patiently provide information and education on how uneducated the American consumer is today about what it takes to have fresh food, quality food, safe food and affordable food on their plate. It doesn’t magically just show up at the grocery store.”

Butts says another way for those in the fresh produce industry can help elevate this cause is to get involved.

“If they’re not a member of that state or local organization that signs on the support coalition, join your organization and support them,” he says. “Then ask your regional organization, ‘What are you doing for these efforts, and how can we participate?’”

Certis Introduces Stepwise Change For Bionematicide

Tue, 15 Mar 2022 16:10:22 GMT

Certis Biologicals has launched MeloCon LC, which builds on the success of its MeloCon lineup by featuring the same active ingredient, Purpureocillium lilacinum strain 251. However, the new MeloCon LC formulation offers:

Lower use rate
Easier storage with improved shelf life
Application flexibility

Karla Medina, field development manager for Certis Biologicals, explains that the new liquid formulation allows for a transition from applying multiple pounds per acre to only needing to apply 10.25 fl. oz. per acre.

Medina explains growers can expect the performance that has been demonstrated by MeloCon products for the past 10 years, but the new MeloCon LC liquid formulation brings greater flexibility in its storage and use.

“This product has a fungal parasite for plant-parasitic nematodes,” Medina says. “It’s a unique mode of action compared to other bionematicides. It’s very specific. It doesn’t affect any beneficial nematodes—just plant-parasitic ones.”

MeloCon LC does not require cold storage. Instead, it is shelf-stable at room temperatures for up to two years.

“The improved storage conditions set it apart, and with its liquid formulation, it’s a more concentrated product,” Medina says.

This highly effective bionematicide has shown efficacy in fungi spores attaching to nematodes at all life stages. MeloCon LC can be applied preplant, at plant or post-planting.

“You can do a drench, in-furrow, chemigation through a drip or a transplant water drench, and it offers flexibility in application methods through the season,” she says.

As part of an integrated nematode management plan, Medina says growers will see improved root health as the product has an added benefit in providing control against nematode root damage. She highlights both at planting and the post-planting application opportunity as a key timing to control nematodes from feeding on young plants’ growing roots.

MeloCon LC is labeled for use in citrus, root crops, fruits and vegetables in all states except California, where registration is pending.
With its recent launch, Medina says the new formulation has been welcomed. In field trials, she’s eager to see its performance in long-season crops, such as sweet potatoes, where it could fit nicely as another tool for conventional growers.

“The demand for biologicals is always on the positive side every year with growth,” Medina says. “The bionematicide category is the fastest-growing sector.”

The product is OMRI-certified and NOP-compliant. Certis Biologicals will be phasing out the previous wettable granule formulations.

Sweet Potatoes

Specialty Crop Organizations Push for AEWR Transparency

Certis Introduces Stepwise Change For Bionematicide