H-2A has its own vocabulary. Here are the terms you will see most, in plain English.

Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR). The minimum hourly wage DOL sets for H-2A jobs by state and job type. You pay the highest of the AEWR and other required rates. See AEWR explained.

Agent. A business that prepares and files H-2A paperwork for a farm. The farm stays the employer. Battenkill Ag is an agent.

Certification. DOL's approval of your application. It starts the 3-year clock for keeping records.

Corresponding worker. A U.S. worker doing the same work as your H-2A workers. They are owed at least the same pay, benefits and conditions.

Daily subsistence. The amount you pay per day for a worker's meals while traveling to and from your farm. See travel reimbursement.

Date of need. The first day you need H-2A workers. Every deadline counts back from it. See the H-2A timeline.

Debarment. Being barred from the H-2A program for a period of time, usually after serious violations or failing to respond to an audit.

ETA-790 and 790A (job order). The forms that describe the job: duties, pay, hours, housing, meals and other terms. They become the work contract if there is no separate one.

ETA-9142A. The Application for Temporary Employment Certification filed with DOL.

Fifty percent rule. You must hire qualified U.S. applicants until half the contract period has passed. See hiring U.S. workers.

FLAG. DOL's online system for filing job orders and applications, and for receiving DOL notices.

Form I-129. The petition filed with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to bring in H-2A workers.

H-2A labor contractor (H-2ALC). A business that employs H-2A workers and supplies them to farms. Unlike an agent, it is the employer, and it must post a surety bond.

Notice of acceptance (NOA). DOL's notice that your application is complete enough to move forward.

Notice of deficiency (NOD). DOL's notice that something in your application needs fixing. You have 5 business days to respond.

Positive recruitment. Required efforts to find U.S. workers, such as contacting former workers and any extra steps DOL requires.

State workforce agency (SWA). Your state's labor agency. It posts your job order and inspects your housing.

Three-fourths guarantee. Your promise to offer at least 75% of the contract hours. See the three-fourths guarantee.

Wage and Hour Division (WHD). The part of DOL that investigates pay, hours, housing and treatment of workers during the season.