The H-2A temporary agricultural workers program isn’t a backup plan anymore – it’s the only legal, reliable and proven labor solution for the modern farmer or rancher. The question is no longer if you’ll use it, but when.

In a breakout session presentation at the Pennsylvania Dairy Summit, held in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, last February, Sarah Moag discussed management transitions and employee management strategies that have worked for her business, Noblehurst Farms, in western New York.

Don’t be afraid to compensate well and provide annual, merit-based raises or bonus structures into the employee budget. Good employees are hard to come by, and keeping them will be much easier than finding them again.