Laura Carbonneau
From worlds away, workers come to pick our crops
Temporary immigrant farm workers like Mr. Lionel Henry, crew leader at Scott Farm Orchard, return annually to build themselves up back home, but also to bring a sense of dedication to the farm work here.
In Vermont, 11.3 percent of farm work is accomplished by seasonal H-2A temporary visa farmworkers, a majority of whom are Jamaican - an estimated 400 individuals.
Established in 1986 as part of the Immigration Reform and Control Act, the H-2A Visa Program allows agricultural businesses in the U.S. to hire temporary foreign workers for seasonal positions that they would have otherwise been unable to fill with domestic workers.