Dairy farms may be eligible to bring in guest workers through the H-2A visa program — as long as they can show the work in question is temporary or seasonal, according to guidance released June 17 by the Department of Homeland Security and the Labor Department.
A DHS policy memo clarifies that while caring for dairy cows is generally a year-round responsibility, there are specific duties within dairy operations that are temporary or seasonal by nature, making those positions potentially eligible for H-2A workers.
The memo points out that federal law already includes dairying in its definition of “agricultural labor or services” that H-2A workers are permitted to perform, indicating that Congress considered the dairy industry eligible for the program. The key factor in determining eligibility, the document explains, is not the type of agricultural work being done, but whether the position itself is genuinely temporary or seasonal.
Under current regulations, dairy employers seeking H-2A workers would need to demonstrate that the employment need would typically last no more than one year, or that it is tied to a specific time of year based on a recurring event or pattern.
The memo also addresses the possibility of consecutive H-2A petitions. DHS says dairy employers may file back-to-back petitions — for the same workers or different ones — for subsequent jobs, but only if they can show either that the duties are meaningfully different from the previous position, or that the work is tied to a distinct, subsequent season.
As an example, the memo describes a dairy owner with separate breeding and calving seasons who files individual H-2A petitions for dairy herdsmen for each of those periods.
Petitions may also be approved when an employer can show that workers’ responsibilities differ between spring and summer versus fall and winter — even if certain tasks, such as milking, remain constant throughout the year.
However, the memo warns that requesting H-2A workers for the same position with the same duties over a continuous period, without a meaningful break, would suggest a permanent ongoing need rather than a temporary one — and would generally result in the petition being denied.
American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall expressed gratitude to the Trump administration for issuing the guidance and expanding access to the H-2A program for dairy producers, while also calling for a more lasting legislative solution to address farm labor needs.
