Resources

H-2A guides for family farms

Plain-English answers to the questions farms ask us most: what H-2A costs, when to file, what you owe your crew, and what records keep you ready for an audit. Each guide links to the regulation it comes from.

Getting started

H-2A Glossary: Terms Every Farm Should Know

Plain-English definitions of AEWR, date of need, job order, FLAG, notice of deficiency, corresponding worker and other H-2A terms.

2 min read

H-2A Timeline: When to File for Your Season

The key H-2A deadlines, counted back from your start date, and why family farms should start about four months early.

2 min read

What Does H-2A Cost? Fees and Costs for Small Farms

Government filing fees, wages, housing, travel and agency fees: what a small farm should budget for an H-2A season.

2 min read

Wages and pay

AEWR Explained: H-2A Wage Rates in 2026

What the Adverse Effect Wage Rate is, how it changed in 2025 and 2026, the August 2026 court ruling, and what it means for your payroll.

2 min read

The H-2A Three-Fourths Guarantee, Explained With an Example

How to calculate the three-fourths hours guarantee, which hours count, the exceptions, and the records you need to prove it.

2 min read

Housing and transportation

H-2A Housing Requirements: What Farms Must Provide

Who gets free housing, which standards apply, when the inspection must happen, and how rental housing works under H-2A.

2 min read

H-2A Travel Reimbursement and Daily Subsistence

When you reimburse inbound travel, what you owe for meals on the road, return travel at the end of the season, and daily transportation.

2 min read

Compliance and audits

H-2A Pay Statements and Payroll Records: A Checklist

Every item an H-2A pay statement must show, the daily records you must keep, how often to pay, and how long to keep it all.

2 min read

Hiring U.S. Workers Under H-2A: Recruitment and the 50% Rule

What H-2A requires when U.S. workers apply: positive recruitment, contacting former workers, the 50% rule, and the records that prove you followed it.

2 min read

Preparing for an H-2A Audit: Free Checklist Template

The two kinds of H-2A audits, their deadlines, where farms slip up, and a free Excel checklist of the records DOL can request.

2 min read

Workers

When an H-2A Worker Leaves: Abandonment, Firing and Transfers

The 2-working-day notice rule, when a worker counts as having abandoned the job, what you owe, and how transfers to another employer work.

2 min read

Rather have someone handle it?

Battenkill Ag files your H-2A paperwork, tracks every deadline and keeps your season records organized. Tell us your start date and crew size for a quote.

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