Month: October 2024

NCAE Releases Blockbuster Agenda for Ag Employer Labor Forum

| Press Release, Uncategorized

(Arlington, VA) The National Council of Agricultural Employers (NCAE) released a blockbuster agenda for the highly anticipated 11th Ag Employer Labor Forum taking place on December 4-6, 2024, at the beautiful M Resort just outside Las Vegas, Nevada. NCAE’s Labor Forum is the premier event for ag employers nationwide, where attendees convene to learn, develop, and advance a shared vision for a resilient and successful U.S. food system that will allow America’s farm and ranch families to do what they do best—grow food and fiber to feed and clothe America and the world.

“Attendees at this year’s Labor Forum will have the opportunity to learn from industry experts   and help shape the future of ag labor in the United States,” explained Michael Marsh, NCAE’s President and CEO. “Our stimulating and provocative speakers will discuss timely topics for employers and those involved in ag labor.”

This year’s Forum features a compelling range of topics on cutting-edge ag labor issues that focus on the future of ag labor. Tech-savvy topics include the use robotics in farming settings as well as the challenges and opportunities that artificial intelligence (AI) present for the agricultural industry. Attendees will peer into the crystal ball alongside ag economists to learn their forecast for the future of farming. Top industry experts will likewise provide their predictions for farmers facing a new Congress and Presidential Administration.

Also featured this year are concurrent sessions highlighting hot legal topics impacting ag employers, tips to navigate the administration’s activist regulatory landmines, key compliance considerations for Farm Labor Contractors, how to responsibly and ethically recruit high quality employees in a cost-effective manner, and much more.

Attendees of these stimulating sessions, along with many others throughout the Forum, are eligible to receive continuing education credit from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).

“With all the ongoing activity in the agricultural labor space,” noted Marsh, “this year’s Forum is a must-attend event.”

Sponsorship Opportunities:

In addition to registration, NCAE is excited to offer a variety of sponsorship opportunities for organizations looking to support agricultural employers, gain exposure in the agricultural labor space, and connect with the hundreds of in-person employers, agents, attorneys and others at who will attend this year’s Forum.

“We are thrilled by our sponsors’ excitement about this year’s Forum,” noted Marsh. “Last year, NCAE received record interest in our trade show, resulting in a completely sold-out exhibition space. This year, we have expanded the trade show to accommodate new organizations looking to support ag employers. Only a handful of booths remain available for interested parties. Do not delay if you wish to be a part of this incredible event which reaches hundreds of attendees and organizational decision-makers.”

Interested parties are encouraged to contact Susan Lester, NCAE Manager of Association Services, for sponsorship details.

Room Block:

NCAE’s discounted room block at the M Resort will close on November 18, 2024, or once the room block is full. To secure your spot at the Forum and take advantage of discounted room rates at the M Resort, visit NCAE’s Labor Forum registration page today.

About NCAE:

NCAE is the national trade association focusing on agricultural labor issues from the employer’s viewpoint.

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U.S. District Court Sets Hearing for NCAE Lawsuit to Protect Farm and Ranch Families from Unlawful and Unconstitutional Rule

| H-2A Visa Program Press Release, Press Release, Uncategorized

October 18, 2024

For Immediate Release

Contact:  Michael Marsh, President and CEO

                (202) 629-9320

(Arlington, VA) The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky has set a hearing for a lawsuit filed by the National Council of Agricultural Employers (NCAE), alongside several agricultural associations and individual farmers, to decide the fate of the Department of Labor’s (Department) unlawful and unconstitutional Final Rule entitled, “Improving Protections for Workers in Temporary Agricultural Employment in the United States” (Rule). After receiving NCAE’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction and Stay last night, the Court issued an Order setting the hearing for November 4, 2024, at 9:00 AM ET.

“America’s farm and ranch families are grateful that the Court in Kentucky wasted no time in treating this matter seriously,” stated Michael Marsh, NCAE President and CEO. “This Rule unequivocally and unlawfully violates the rights of America’s farmers and ranchers by stripping employers of the due process rights afforded to them by the Constitution, imposing new illogical duties on farmers that infantilize and jeopardize the safety of their farmworkers, and providing America’s foreign competition a financial advantage by artificially inflating the regulatory costs to the detriment of America’s producers as well as consumers.”

This hearing is the latest update on the nationwide status of the Rule. On August 29th, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia issued a preliminary injunction in the case of Kansas, et al. vs. U.S. Department of Labor which enjoined the Rule from taking effect in Georgia, Kansas, South Carolina, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, as well as for certain individuals and entities, leaving farmers and ranchers with operations in the two-thirds of states not covered by the injunction vulnerable to substantive provisions of the rule.

In the injunction, the Georgia Court explained that “[a]gencies may play the sorcerer’s apprentice but not the sorcerer himself. The [Rule] is an attempt by the [Department] to play the sorcerer. The [Department] may assist Congress but may not become Congress.”

The Department issued a statement on their website on September 10th that they would begin processing applications from employers not covered by the injunction in accordance with the Final Rule on September 12th. They further stated they would process applications for employers covered by the injunction in accordance with the regulations that were in effect prior, thereby creating a new multiple-application process.

On September 16th, NCAE filed a lawsuit in the Eastern District of Kentucky in hopes of expanding the injunction to protect America’s farm and ranch families nationwide from this pernicious rule.

“NCAE is hopeful the Court in Kentucky will dispense with this rule once and for all so that farmers and ranchers nationwide can get back to what they do best—ensuring that Americans and those around the world have food to enjoy on their tables.”

NCAE is the national trade association focusing on agricultural labor issues from the employer’s viewpoint.

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NCAE’s Early Bird Registration for the Ag Labor Forum About to Fly Away

| H-2A Visa Program Press Release, Press Release, Uncategorized

October 8, 2024

For Immediate Release

Contact:  Michael Marsh, President and CEO

                (202) 629-9320

The “Early Bird” discounted registration price for the National Council of Agricultural Employers’ (NCAE) 2024 Ag Employer Forum will close on Friday, October 11, 2024.  NCAE’s Ag Employer Labor Forum has become the premier event for ag employers nationwide, where attendees convene to learn, develop, and advance a shared vision for a resilient and successful U.S. food system that will allow America’s farmers and ranchers to do what they do best—grow food to feed the world.

“NCAE has put together a jam-packed and fun-filled agenda for this year’s Annual Ag Employer Labor Forum,” noted Michael Marsh, NCAE President and CEO.  “We have offered a discounted “Early Bird” rate for this event for the past several years and we are expecting a sold-out event.  The Forum will be held at the beautiful M Resort just outside Las Vegas on December 4-6, 2024, and brings together farmers and ranchers, thought leaders, decision makers, attorneys, government agencies, and agents from across the U.S. on labor issues impacting agriculture.”

“However,” noted Marsh, “attendees will need to register before this Friday to take advantage of the special discounted registration rate.”

In response to the overwhelming interest in last year’s Labor Forum, NCAE has again expanded their room block to record numbers. The M Resort room block is filling up fast for this event and the block will close on November 18, 2024, or once it is full.  NCAE has also negotiated some additional trade show floor space from the Resort as the main floor sold out for the first time in the Forum’s history.  Sponsors interested in showcasing their organization to hundreds of in-person ag employers and decision makers are encouraged to contact NCAE Manager of Association Services, Susan Lester, to check on availability as soon as possible.

“Each year this event just gets bigger and better.  2024 is going to be another record-setter,” said Marsh.   

“Many of our program offerings also qualify for continuing education credit from the Society of Human Resource Managers (SHRM), as NCAE and our members strive for compliance with ever more complex laws and regulations surrounding agricultural employment.”

NCAE is the national trade association focusing on agricultural labor issues from the employer’s viewpoint.

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Interested in the Forum? Register on our website here.

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