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My job ended during the pandemic, so I left New York and moved to a farm in Maine — and it's changed how I think about work and food

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A <keyword id="6364357" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="farm" source="Orion">farm</keyword> in <keyword id="11896956" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="texas" source="Orion">Texas</keyword> owned by one of the US' biggest potato growers didn't pay overtime premiums, the DOL found.</li><li>The DOL says it had since recovered more than $1.3 million in back pay for almost 500 warehouse workers.</li></ul>A farm in Texas paid more than $1.3 million in back wages after an <a href="https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/whd/whd20220217">investigation</a> by the <keyword id="12011978" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="department-of-labor" source="Orion">Department of Labor</keyword> (DOL) found it failed to pay its workers a premium for overtime hours.The Dalhart, Texas farm – operated by Blaine Larsen Farms, one of the US' biggest potato growers – also failed to properly report an outbreak of COVID-19, the DOL said.Idaho-headquartered Blaine Larsen, often known as Larsen Farms, violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by not paying almost 500 warehouse staff time-and-a-half when they worked more than 40 hours a week, the DOL said. The department said that it had recovered almost $1.35 million in back wages for the warehouse workers.The farm, situated in the northwest of Texas' Panhandle region, also violated sections of the Immigration and Nationality Act by providing incomplete pay statements to H-2A workers and by letting drivers transport workers without the proper license, the DOL found. The H-2A program permits employers to bring foreign nationals to the United States to temporarily fill agricultural jobsThe farm additionally failed to properly report an outbreak of COVID-19, violating the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's <a href="https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.142">temporary labor camp standards</a>, the DOL said.Larsen Farms didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, made outside of regular working hours.The labor department said it also investigated Larsen Farms twice in 2020. A criminal complaint against the company was filed by the labor department's Office of the Inspector General's Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations in July 2020, which alleged that a manager demanded workers from Mexico pay up to $1,500 each to get work visas.The firm was investigated by the labor department again in August the same year after two workers at two other Texas farms operated by the company died from COVID-19, amid what the department said were "allegations that federal workplace safety requirements were ignored."While workers in some industries were able to work from home during the pandemic, farm laborers were not, and in some cases they <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/farmworkers-usa-immigrants-legal-status-coronavirus-pandemic-covid-2020-9">put themselves at risk of catching COVID-19</a>. Agricultural workers were among the groups that experienced the biggest jump in mortality rates during the first seven months of the pandemic, per a <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.01.21.21250266v1.full.pdf">study</a> by the University of California, San Francisco.The agricultural industry also pays relatively low wages. In May 2020, almost 300,000 people worked as farmworkers and laborers at crop farms, nurseries, and greenhouses across the US, earning an average of less than $15 an hour, per estimates from the <a href="https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes452092.htm">Bureau of Labor Statistics</a>."The pandemic highlighted the essential contributions agricultural workers – including workers in the H-2A visa programs – make every day to feed the nation and support our <keyword id="11893570" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="economy" source="Orion">economy</keyword>," Jessica Looman, the DOL's acting wage and hour division administrator, said in a <a href="https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/whd/whd20220217">press release</a>. "In return for their hard work, they must be paid all of their wages and protected from workplace hazards."

A Texas farm owned by one of the US' biggest potato growers paid over $1.3 million in back wages to workers after denying them overtime pay

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A massive fire destroyed two barns and killed around 166,000 hens at an Arizona farm.</li><li>Multiple fire agencies responded to the second-alarm fire at <keyword id="10886426" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="hickmans-family-farms">Hickman's Family Farms</keyword>.</li><li>A spokesperson for the farm told local <keyword id="6355005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="news">news</keyword> a "care team" was in place to ensure "the other chickens are not disrupted in any way."</li></ul>Multiple fire agencies in Arizona responded to a fire at Hickman's Family Farms that destroyed two barns and killed over 166,000 hens.A spokesperson for the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office told Insider that firefighters responded to a call of a fire at the farm on March 6 at 1 p.m. At the scene, which sits just under 50 miles west of Phoenix, fire personnel discovered two warehouses with chickens were on fire. The fire department was able to contain the fire and none of the Hickman's employees were injured.Buckeye Fire Valley District, Arizona Fire and Medical Authority, and the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office responded to the fire, <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-breaking/2021/03/06/165-000-hens-die-2-barns-destroyed-fire-hickmans-family-farm/4614251001/">AZ Central reported</a>."No humans were hurt, we're thankful for that," Sharman Hickman, a spokesperson for Hickman's Family Farms, told <a href="https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/more-than-160000-hens-killed-2-barns-lost-in-hickmans-family-farms-fire">KSAZ</a>. "But we are still devastated by the bird loss." The outlet also reported that Hickman's focus point is not on the loss of potential profits. "We've got a care team to make sure the other chickens are not disrupted in any way and they can do about their business of laying eggs and enjoying their environment," Hickman told KSAZ.An unidentified adult man was transported to a local hospital for smoke inhalation in stable condition, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Buckeye-Valley-Fire-District-1425987387699205/">according to Buckeye Valley Fire District.</a>Hickman's Family Farm did not immediately respond to Insider's request for additional comment.

A fire at an Arizona farm destroyed 2 barns and killed over 166,000 hens

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A floating poultry <keyword id="6364357" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="farm">farm</keyword> designed to house 7,000 hens is coming to Merwehaven, Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, according to its designer, the Goldsmith <keyword id="51418" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="architecture">architecture</keyword> company.</li><li>According to a press release shared with Insider, the walls of the planned farm would be made of a combination of glass and translucent polycarbonate panels to allow visitors a peek inside the building.</li><li>Other than egg-laying hens, the farm would have space for growing vegetables and herbs using LED lights, according to the press release. </li><li>Goldsmith.Company's design shows an air system within the farm designed to reduce emissions of poultry dust and nitrogen.</li><li>The press release also confirmed plans for chicken manure to be dried into fertilizer. </li><li>The farm, which is in its final design stage according to the architecture firm's website, is part of a larger project of floating <keyword id="6355165" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="agriculture">agriculture</keyword> systems in the port of the Merwe-Vierhaven that already includes a dairy farm.</li></ul><div type="image" title="floating poultry farm" height="1500" width="2000" msid="76697307" hostid="261"></div><ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/photos-show-rise-biophilic-architecture-trend-combat-climate-change-save-planet">Radical architects are obsessed with turning cities into forests to combat climate change. These unreal photos show that the extraordinary idea actually works.</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/egg-pod-hard-boiled-eggs-microwave-review-2020-6">I used an 'As Seen on TV' microwavable egg-cooker and got perfect hard-boiled eggs in minutes</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/restaurants-plexiglass-table-barriers-around-the-world-2020-5">Restaurants around the world are installing see-through barriers on tables, but some owners think it's a terrible idea for business</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/photos-silo-hotel-cape-town-south-africa-luxury-suite-review-2019-4">I stayed in an abandoned grain silo that was transformed into one of the trendiest boutique hotels in the world, and it definitely lived up to the hype</a></li></ul>

A floating poultry farm built on water is coming to the Netherlands, and it's an architectural masterpiece

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Angela Macke, 52, is the founder of Light of Day Organics, a <keyword id="11988809" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="tea" source="Orion">tea</keyword> <keyword id="6364357" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="farm" source="Orion">farm</keyword> in Traverse City, Michigan.</li><li>She left traditional nursing after discovering holistic medicine and decided to start a tea farm. </li></ul>This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Angela Macke, a tea <keyword id="11995890" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="farmer" source="Orion">farmer</keyword> in Michigan, about her career path. It has been edited for length and clarity.When I was in college, I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis and suffered from mysterious fevers, rashes, hair loss, and a lack of energy. Despite a faithful regimen of prescribed steroids and pain medications, plus my growing knowledge as a nursing student, nothing seemed to work. By the time I took my RN boards, I knew I needed to find a better solution.After sitting my boards, I decided to move to Maui to study alternative <keyword id="11897506" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="healthcare" source="Orion">healthcare</keyword> and holistic nursing. There, I learned the healing techniques of a macrobiotic diet, eating in season, meditation, and particularly drinking tea daily. I truly believe these changes healed me — I haven't taken any medication now in 30 years. <h2>In 1992, I began my career as a nurse, first in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and later back in Maui</h2>I worked in ER, critical care and cardiothoracic units, and the recovery room. Every day I witnessed life-or-death situations and regularly saw the effects that poor nutrition and lifestyle habits had on the human body and psyche. I knew I could do more.In 2003, I quit nursing to start my own business, Light of Day Organics, and teach stress reduction and disease prevention using tea. My home in Michigan sits on 13 acres of farmland. There, I built a licensed commercial kitchen, a meditative yurt to teach classes, and three large irrigated hoop houses, which are green houses with metal hoops covered in plastic to insulate growing plants. <h2>I began experimenting with growing teas and herbs </h2><div type="image" title="Angela Macke" height="1452" width="1936" msid="89354477" hostid="261"></div>Having grown up on a blueberry farm and completed a master gardening program through Michigan State University, I had some experience growing crops, although most of my tea-growing education was through trial and error. I also began growing berries, chamomile, lavender, mint, and more to blend in with the tea leaves. In 2005, my farm was Certified USDA Organic and Demeter Certified Biodynamic.As interest in my teas and tea classes grew, so did the farm — we expanded to 26 acres in 2007 and nearly 75 acres by 2016.In 2009, I opened an onsite tea shop where customers could order tea by the cup, taste a rotating flight of teas, and purchase loose tea to take home.<h2>Just like in the emergency room, there's no such thing as a typical day on the tea farm</h2>Spring and summer are harvest seasons, and we stay busy hand-picking tea leaves as well as fruit and herbs to blend in our mixes. Some teas require more attention, like our specialty white tea that has to be picked every 28 days. After harvesting, the tea leaves go through a four-hour process of drying and withering on ventilation trays. Next, we oxidize the leaves either by rolling them by hand or with a tea-rolling machine. Finally, we fire the leaves either in a wok or a low-temperature oven. I take tea breaks with staff at around 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. and end my farm work by watching the sunset and enjoying a meal made with our fresh produce. I then usually spend a few hours in the evening doing administrative work. <h2>With the harvesting done, fall and winter are a time for less season-dependent work</h2><div type="image" title="Angela Macke" height="691" width="921" msid="89354480" hostid="261"></div>This is when I do the majority of my blending and packaging — all done by hand — as well as consulting, reorganizing, and preparing for audits. Before the pandemic, Light of Day was growing steadily and had 11 full-time employees. We often welcomed hundreds of visitors a day during our busy season between Memorial Day and Halloween. Unfortunately, we had to close the tea shop in March 2020 due to COVID-19, and while I was able to maintain business via online sales, I lost 90% of my revenue and my entire retail store staff. <h2>Things picked up in 2021, and I'm slowly starting fresh with a new team</h2>Though the tea shop remains closed, the space is now used for new product development, tea-based nutritional consulting, and acupuncture treatments. Last summer, we began offering self-guided tours of the farm and resumed our three-hour tea class workshops, where guests taste different teas and learn about the tea-farming process and health benefits. We also opened an outdoor pop-up trailer where visitors can purchase a hot cup of tea, loose-leaf teas, and tea pots.Thanks to loyal customers and wholesale accounts like the University of Michigan, revenue is picking up and we're in the midst of a construction project to expand our commercial kitchen. <h2>While I love my job and working in nature, running a farm isn't easy</h2>The days are long and time management can be challenging. Like for so many others, the last two years with the pandemic have been difficult, but the personal freedom I've enjoyed running my own business has made me truly appreciate life in a deeper way. What I love most about my job is that it's always changing. Although I trained as a healthcare professional and worked daily to save people's lives, it's through growing and sharing tea philosophy that I feel I'm able to make the most positive impact on people. I wouldn't change it for anything.

I quit my career as a nurse to open the farm of my dreams. The personal freedom I have now makes me appreciate life in a much deeper way.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The closure of restaurants, businesses, and schools has made it difficult for <keyword id="606670" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="farms">farms</keyword> to sell off their stocks of produce, milk, and other food products.</li><li>Many farms are resorting to destroying produce and discarding milk they're unable to sell.</li><li>Meanwhile, <keyword id="1185477" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="food-banks">food banks</keyword> are struggling to keep up with a surge in demand, and some are relying on farms to donate extra food.</li><li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/BusinessInsiderToday/">View more episodes of Business Insider Today on Facebook.</a></li></ul>The coronavirus has put farms across the country at risk of going out of business. Some have even been forced to destroy produce or discard milk after losing orders from restaurants and schools.Meanwhile, food banks are facing a surge in demand and a shortage of food — <a href="https://foodbanksj.org/2020/04/08/food-bank-of-south-jersey-sees-200-spike-in-demand-amid-covid-19-outbreak/">as high as 200%</a> in some places — sparking questions about why food is being wasted when there are millions of people in need. As it turns out, getting supplies from farms to food banks is easier said than done. The cost of harvesting, packaging, and then transporting crops is often too high for farmers to bear. But now, companies, farmers markets, and grocery stores are finding ways to close this gap. The Publix supermarket chain recently announced it will buy excess milk and produce from Florida farmers and donate it to local food banks. It's a welcome announcement for people like Thomas Tolbert, a senior sales associate for two produce vendors in South Florida."Honestly, thank God for Publix, because it's been a struggle on the food service side for sure, just with restaurants being closed," Tolbert said. "We've lost pretty much about 90% of the food service business."Tolbert credited the move for helping him avoid layoffs at his company.But even with the donations from Publix, the <a href="https://feedingsouthflorida.org/">Feeding South Florid</a>a food bank is still struggling to keep up with demand, president and CEO Paco Velez said."We have had to almost double our output," he said. "Last year about the same time we distributed 7 million pounds of food. This year, the same six-week period, we've distributed more than 14 million pounds of food."The situation is similar in San Antonio, where thousands of cars wait in line each day to receive boxes of food. One viral photo <a href="https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/With-San-Antonio-Food-Bank-in-national-spotlight-15193761.php">showed an estimated 10,000 cars</a> waiting in line for food.The <a href="https://safoodbank.org/">San Antonio Food Bank</a> is feeding 120,000 people a week, up from the typical 60,000 a week, according to CEO Eric Cooper. "That's roughly $6 million in food every week that we're needing to collect and distribute to families," he said.Like Feeding South Florida, the San Antonio Food Bank is relying on donations from farmers to keep up. The Pearl Farmers Market alone has donated more than 1,700 pounds of produce and eggs over the last month. <div type="image" title="still 10" height="1080" width="1920" msid="75541591" hostid="261"></div>But demand at the food bank remains high."This environment's such that the supply has not met the demand," Cooper said. "We've had to lean on our inventory at the warehouse, and that's getting lower and lower. We're anxious that we might run out and so we're needing help."Volunteers are another challenge. The San Antonio Food Bank normally relies on 1,000 volunteers each week to pack and deliver food to families in need. But because of the coronavirus pandemic, the number of volunteers has declined by about half. "Our volunteers are running towards a crisis that many people are running away from, Cooper said. "Putting themselves at risk to serve a neighbor in need."As unemployment numbers continue to rise and the timeline for reopening states remains uncertain, the strain on food banks grows. "My hope and prayer is that we come out of COVID-19 with a stronger resolve to address the fractures in our communities like poverty, to help our neighbors be able to provide for themselves and their loved ones as we all would want," Cooper said.Read the original article on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/food-bank-coronavirus-demand-farms-produce-2020-5">Business Insider</a>

US farms are destroying milk and produce — but food banks are struggling to keep up with 200% demand spikes

Hello! This story is from today's edition of <keyword id="11313717" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="morning-brew">Morning Brew</keyword>, an awesome daily email publication read by 2.5 million next-generation leaders like you. Sign up <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reviews/out?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.morningbrew.com%2Fdaily%2Fsubscribe%3Futm_medium%3Dpartnership%26utm_source%3Dinsider">here</a> to get it!Yesterday, Bowery <keyword id="6386447" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="farming">Farming</keyword> <a href="https://www.fooddive.com/news/vertical-farming-company-bowery-raises-300m-valuing-firm-at-23b/600777/?utm_source=morning_brew" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> a $300 million fundraising round that included A-list investors like Natalie Portman, José Andrés, and Lewis Hamilton. Justin Timberlake also chipped in.The startup, now valued at $2.3 billion, grows produce using indoor vertical farming setups. Its 13 varieties of greens are sold in 850 stores, and with its new funds it'll build additional farms and expand into new crops including tomatoes, strawberries, and carrots.<h2>Sci-fi farming is catching on</h2><keyword id="6361617" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="climate-change">Climate change</keyword> concerns and a renewed focus on the food supply chain have contributed to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-agriculture-indoor-focus/investors-seed-indoor-farms-as-pandemic-disrupts-food-supplies-idUSKBN2AI1KH?utm_source=morning_brew" target="_blank" rel="noopener">increased investor appetite</a> for indoor farming. Last year, global <keyword id="47361" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="VC">VC</keyword> investment in indoor farms tripled to almost $1.9 billion. Bowery's deal is the biggest on record for the industry, but competitors have scored plenty of dough in recent months, including BrightFarms ($100 million last October), "Omakase" strawberry grower Oishii ($50 million in March), and AppHarvest, which SPAC'd in February and is now worth $1.5 billion. Zoom out: The indoor farming sector is growing but is still just a wee seedling. In 2019, California grew nearly 4x more pounds of lettuce than all indoor-grown veggies across the country combined. This story is from today's edition of Morning Brew, a daily email publication. Sign up <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reviews/out?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.morningbrew.com%2Fdaily%2Fsubscribe%3Futm_medium%3Dpartnership%26utm_source%3Dinsider">here</a> to get it!

An indoor farming startup is valued at $2.3 billion after a historic fundraising round as climate change concerns become more urgent

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Zynga announced Monday that <keyword id="56939" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="FarmVille">FarmVille</keyword> is shutting down on <keyword id="6354576" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="facebook">Facebook</keyword> by the end of the year.</li><li>The news comes after Facebook announced it would stop supporting <keyword id="6374108" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="games">games</keyword> that run on Adobe's Flash Player by December 31.</li><li>The farm simulation game launched in 2009 and quickly rose in popularity, drawing millions of online players.</li></ul>FarmVille is shutting down on Facebook by the end of the year, Zynga <a href="https://zyngasupport.helpshift.com/a/farmville/?s=announcements&amp;f=important-announcement&amp;l=enamp;l=en">announced</a> Monday.The company said the move is due to Adobe's decision to stop distributing and updating its Flash Player software. Facebook announced in June that it in turn would officially end support for Flash games on December 31, at which point FarmVille users will no longer be able to play the game."We're aware that many of you have been with us since the very beginning, helping to build an incredible global community of players over the years who've enjoyed this game just as much as we have," Zynga said in a <a href="https://zyngasupport.helpshift.com/a/farmville/?s=announcements&amp;f=important-announcement&amp;l=enamp;l=en">blog post.</a> "For that we say thank you."Players will be able to make in-app purchases until November 17, per the company. After that date, the game's payment system will be deactivated.FarmVille launched in 2009 and quickly rose in popularity, gaining <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/zynga-discloses-revenues-2009-10">millions of users</a> and turning a nice profit for <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-cleverest-explanation-as-to-why-zynga-is-a-multi-billion-company-you-will-ever-read-2010-4">gaming giant Zynga</a>. The farm simulation game allows users to plant, grow, and harvest crops, and raise livestock, and the company reported it had <a href="https://www.zynga.com/games/farmville/">the most daily active users of any game on Facebook until 2010</a>. But the social network giant made changes to its platform in 2010 that toppled FarmVille from its throne. Zynga's FarmVille then struggled to move into the mobile <keyword id="6357332" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Gaming">gaming</keyword> market.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/farmville-2-zynga-2012-10">The company has since released a sequel</a>, FarmVille 2.Zynga enjoyed a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/zynga-peak-turnaround-acquisition-2020-6">successful first quarter this year</a> as people turned to online game downloads during the coronavirus pandemic. Zynga, which is also the creator of games like "Words with Friends" and "Candy Crush," said in early June that it was acquiring the Turkish game developer Peak for $1.8 billion. The deal will be Zynga's biggest in its history, as <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/zynga-peak-turnaround-acquisition-2020-6">Business Insider's Shona Ghosh</a> reported.Zynga did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

FarmVille is leaving Facebook after more than a decade of letting players harvest crops and raise livestock with friends

<div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image on-image"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/49416631@N00/2611305933/">Flickr/mattlemmon</a></div></div>This summer the world was horrified after reports that "at least" <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/at-least-one-million-cockroaches-have-reportedly-escaped-from-a-farm-in-china-2013-8">one million cockroaches had escaped from a farm in Jiangsu, China</a>.
While the mental image of one million cockroaches was disturbing enough, the bigger question was was why someone was <keyword id="6386447" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Farming">farming</keyword> such vast quantities of the insects.
Now, thanks to <a href="http://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-c1-china-cockroach-20131015-m,0,172412.story">Barbara Demick of the Los Angeles Times</a>, we have the answer: A cockroach bubble.
Demick spoke to one cockroach farmer, Wang Fuming, who has six farms with an estimated 10 million cockroaches. Wang sells his cockroaches for use in Chinese medicine, and the price of the roaches has rapidly increased in recent years - a pound of dried cockroaches used to cost around $2 and now costs around $20.
"With cockroaches, you can invest 20 yuan ($3.25) and get back 150 yuan ($24)," Wang told Demick.
Unfortunately, these high returns are creating a risky market, Demick writes, with cockroach farms opening at a very fast rate. It seems to be just a matter of time before the next cockroach escape.

Huge Profits Leading To Surge In Chinese Cockroach Farming

<ul class="summary-list"><li>An <keyword id="12047193" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="idaho" source="Orion">Idaho</keyword> potato farm intentionally violated H-2A rules and underpaid guest workers, the DOL said.</li><li>The farm even threatened to end their contracts if they didn't accept illegal wages, per the DOL.</li></ul>A potato farm in Idaho "intentionally" violated H-2A visa rules and even threatened to fire guest workers if they didn't accept wages below the legal limit, according to the US <keyword id="12011978" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="department-of-labor" source="Orion">Department of Labor</keyword> (DOL).Jorgensen Management, a potato farm in Bancroft, southeast Idaho, gave workers nearly <a>$160,000 in unpaid wages after a DOL investigation.</a>The farm showed a "willful disregard for the law," in which it "created a toxic workplace and victimized these vulnerable workers," Carrie Aguilar, district director of the DOL's Wage and Hour Division in Portland, Oregon, said <a>in a </a><a href="https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/whd/whd20220222">press release</a><a> Tuesday.</a>Jorgensen Management could not immediately be reached for comment by Insider.The <a href="https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/legacy/files/H2AEnglish.pdf">H-2A program</a> allows employers to bring foreign nationals to the US to temporarily fill agricultural <keyword id="11899183" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="jobs" source="Orion">jobs</keyword> when they can't find enough domestic workers. The employers have to provide workers with transport to the US and housing.<a>But Jorgensen Management didn't pay guest workers for </a><a href="https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/oflc/pdfs/h-2a_faq_round5.pdf">inbound transportation costs</a><a></a> or meet housing safety and health standards, the DOL said.The farm also gave the workers <a href="https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/legacy/files/H2AEnglish.pdf">less than three-quarters of the hours</a> guaranteed on their contracts and didn't provide wage statements to workers or pay them on time, the DOL said.<a href="https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/oflc/pdfs/h-2a_faq_round5.pdf">Labor laws</a> require H-2A workers to be paid at least twice a month.The DOL said that Jorgensen Management<a> also used</a> intimidation to "exploit" workers by threatening to terminate their contracts and send them back to Mexico if they refused to accept wages at a lower rate than <a href="https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/foreign-labor/wages/adverse-effect-wage-rates">legally required</a> under the H-2A program.The farm also failed to pay the required rates to 69 domestic workers hired alongside H-2A visa workers, per the DOL.The department said it had recovered<a> $159,256 in unpaid wages for the workers and had assessed $25,430 in civil money penalties.</a>Guest workers and immigrant labor are <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/industries-reliant-on-immigrants-undocumented-workers-have-worst-labor-shortages-2021-11?r=US&amp;IR=T">essential</a> to US agriculture. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mushrooms-getting-destroyed-pennsylvania-farms-labor-farms-2021-11?r=US&amp;IR=T">Insider previously reported</a> that US immigration laws mean that some farms are struggling to get enough labor, which limits how much produce they can grow and harvest.

You Searched For "Farming" and got 11 results

My job ended during the pandemic, so I left New York and moved to a farm in Maine — and it's changed how I think about work and food

Michaela Schwartz

A Texas farm owned by one of the US' biggest potato growers paid over $1.3 million in back wages to workers after denying them overtime pay

Grace Dean

A fire at an Arizona farm destroyed 2 barns and killed over 166,000 hens

Bre'Anna Grant

A floating poultry farm built on water is coming to the Netherlands, and it's an architectural masterpiece

Rachel Askinasi

I quit my career as a nurse to open the farm of my dreams. The personal freedom I have now makes me appreciate life in a much deeper way.

Erica Hobbs

US farms are destroying milk and produce — but food banks are struggling to keep up with 200% demand spikes

Katie Nixdorf,Elizabeth McCau…

An indoor farming startup is valued at $2.3 billion after a historic fundraising round as climate change concerns become more urgent

Alex Hickey, Morning Brew

FarmVille is leaving Facebook after more than a decade of letting players harvest crops and raise livestock with friends

Katie Canales

Huge Profits Leading To Surge In Chinese Cockroach Farming

Adam Taylor

An Idaho potato farm threatened to fire foreign workers and deport them to Mexico if they didn't accept wages below the legal limit, the DOL says

Grace Dean

I visited a newly licensed marijuana farm in New York, and was shocked by how far there is to go before legal sales begin

Ben Gilbert

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You Searched For "Farming" and got 11 results

My job ended during the pandemic, so I left New York and moved to a farm in Maine — and it's changed how I think about work and food

Michaela Schwartz

A Texas farm owned by one of the US' biggest potato growers paid over $1.3 million in back wages to workers after denying them overtime pay

Grace Dean

A fire at an Arizona farm destroyed 2 barns and killed over 166,000 hens

Bre&apos;Anna Grant

A floating poultry farm built on water is coming to the Netherlands, and it's an architectural masterpiece

Rachel Askinasi

I quit my career as a nurse to open the farm of my dreams. The personal freedom I have now makes me appreciate life in a much deeper way.

Erica Hobbs

US farms are destroying milk and produce — but food banks are struggling to keep up with 200% demand spikes

Katie Nixdorf,Elizabeth McCau…

An indoor farming startup is valued at $2.3 billion after a historic fundraising round as climate change concerns become more urgent

Alex Hickey, Morning Brew

FarmVille is leaving Facebook after more than a decade of letting players harvest crops and raise livestock with friends

Katie Canales

Huge Profits Leading To Surge In Chinese Cockroach Farming

Adam Taylor

An Idaho potato farm threatened to fire foreign workers and deport them to Mexico if they didn't accept wages below the legal limit, the DOL says

Grace Dean

I visited a newly licensed marijuana farm in New York, and was shocked by how far there is to go before legal sales begin

Ben Gilbert

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides

Bre'Anna Grant