As an agricultural employer, you may have heard conflicting information about the H-2A temporary agricultural worker program. Some say you can only get workers for 9.5 months maximum. Others claim that certain operations somehow manage to secure H-2A workers year-round. The truth is more nuanced than either extreme, and understanding this distinction could be crucial for your operation’s labor planning.
The Foundation: H-2A’s Seasonal Requirement
The H-2A program is designed for temporary or seasonal agricultural work. The Department of Labor (DOL) interprets this strictly: if your operation needs the same number of workers year-round for the same tasks, you likely don’t qualify for H-2A assistance.
The regulation at 20 CFR 655.103(d) defines seasonal employment as work that “is tied to a certain time of year by an event or pattern, such as a short annual growing cycle or a specific aspect of a longer cycle, and requires labor levels far above those necessary for ongoing operations.”
The Classic Example: Why Dairy Farms Can’t Use H-2A
Dairy operations provide the clearest illustration of work that doesn’t qualify for H-2A. Cows need to be milked every day, year-round. There’s nothing seasonal about milking – you need the same number of workers in January as you do in July. The workload doesn’t fluctuate based on seasons or agricultural cycles.
This is why the dairy industry has been advocating for years to modify the H-2A program to include year-round agricultural work. Immigrant workers account for about 51% of hired dairy labor, and the dairies employing them produce 79% of the U.S. milk supply, according to a Texas A&M study commissioned by the National Milk Producers Federation (2015) – yet dairy farms cannot access this legal pathway for those workers.
The Strategic Solution: Two Distinct Seasons
Here’s where it gets interesting for mixed agricultural operations. If your business has genuinely distinct seasonal needs for different types of agricultural work, you may be able to obtain separate H-2A certifications that effectively provide workers throughout most of the year.
Consider this scenario: Your agricultural operation grows crops (hay, wheat, or corn) from March through November, requiring additional workers for planting, cultivation, and harvest. During December through February, your operation shifts focus to cattle management – feeding, calving, and other livestock care that requires different skills and labor patterns.
Because these represent two legitimately distinct seasonal activities – crop production season and cattle management season – you can potentially apply for separate temporary labor certifications. The key is that each season involves different work tied to specific agricultural cycles, not just a desire to keep the same workers busy year-round.
The Legal Foundation: Building Precedent Through Administrative Decisions
Initially, DOL was skeptical of “two season” approaches, often denying them as attempts to circumvent the seasonal requirement. However, agricultural employers have successfully challenged DOL’s interpretation through the administrative appeals process, establishing important precedents.
Vermillion Ranch Ltd. Partnership, 2014-TLC-00002 (ALJ Dec. 5, 2013), established the foundational principle that employers can demonstrate legitimate seasonal differences in their operations. Vermillion was a range cattle operation whose application for winter range herders DOL denied as a year-round need; the judge reversed, finding the employer had shown genuinely distinct seasonal needs – experienced winter herders, calvers with veterinary experience, and livestock workers – driven by winter weather and the herd’s gestational cycle.
Three years later, Mammoser Farms, Inc., 2017-TLC-00001 (ALJ Nov. 22, 2016), provided the strongest authority for regular agricultural operations. In this landmark Administrative Law Judge decision, Mammoser Farms successfully reversed DOL’s denial of their winter maintenance H-2A application.
Mammoser had two genuinely distinct seasons:
- Crop season (March-November): “Drive tractors/trucks and perform a variety of crop (hay and corn) raising duties… Plow, harrow, plant, fertilize, cultivate, spray and harvest using a variety of farm machinery”
- Winter maintenance season (December-March): “Perform general winter maintenance… snow removal from pathways, roadways and roads. De-ice and repair manure/water pipes/bunker silos”
DOL initially denied the winter certification, arguing that both positions involved equipment use and represented “an impermissible year round need for the same job opportunity.” However, the ALJ found the positions were “separate and distinct,” noting:
- Different job duties: The winter position involved “primarily winter maintenance including snow removal and deicing” with “no crop-related duties mentioned in the winter job description whatsoever”
- Different SOC codes: The State Workforce Agency assigned different occupational classifications
- Different physical requirements: 75-pound lifting requirement for crop work versus 40-pound requirement for winter maintenance
- Genuine seasonality: Winter work was “necessitated by the severe winter season experienced in” western New York
The ALJ emphasized that the analysis must focus on whether an employer’s need for “a particular agricultural position has been established as seasonal,” not whether minor equipment similarities exist between different types of agricultural work.
Real-World Application
Agricultural employers have successfully implemented the two-season strategy. For example, operations have obtained both regular farmworker job orders and specialized agricultural job orders that, when combined, extend over 10 months. The key to success lies in proper documentation and clear differentiation between the seasonal activities.
Making Your Case: What DOL Looks For
If you’re considering a two-season approach, DOL will scrutinize several factors:
Distinct Work Activities: The work in each season must involve different tasks, skills, or agricultural cycles. Simply extending the same work across seasons won’t qualify.
Genuine Seasonality: Each period of need must be tied to actual agricultural patterns – weather, growing cycles, animal breeding cycles, or market demands.
Labor Level Fluctuations: You must demonstrate that each season requires “labor levels far above those necessary for ongoing operations.”
Consistency: Changing your start and end dates frequently raises red flags with DOL, suggesting the periods aren’t truly tied to seasonal conditions.
The dates matter even more for contractors than for fixed-site farms. An H-2A labor contractor must give beginning and ending dates for each separate farm it will serve, and cannot change the places of employment after filing.
Documentation Is Critical
Success with a two-season strategy requires extremely thorough documentation:
- Very detailed job duties and requirements to distinguish each seasonal position
- Comprehensive Statement of Temporary Need explaining each season’s requirements
- Evidence of how the work differs between seasons
- Historical data showing labor fluctuations
- Agricultural cycle documentation (planting schedules, breeding calendars, etc.)
- Clear demonstration that ongoing operations require fewer workers outside these periods
The level of detail required cannot be overstated. DOL will carefully review whether the positions truly represent distinct seasonal needs or simply an attempt to maintain the same workers year-round.
The Practical Reality
While the two-season approach can work, it’s not a simple workaround for year-round labor needs. DOL reviews these applications carefully, often issuing Notices of Deficiency requesting additional documentation. The strategy works best for operations with genuinely distinct agricultural activities that align with natural seasonal patterns. These timing rules get more complex for multi-state custom combining operations.
Professional Guidance Is Essential
Successfully implementing a two-season H-2A strategy requires navigating complex regulations and demonstrating compliance with detailed legal requirements. The Mammoser decision shows both the potential for success and the level of scrutiny these applications receive.
Your application should reference these precedent cases – Vermillion Ranch and Mammoser Farms – when making the argument for separate seasonal certifications. The Mammoser decision provides a detailed roadmap of the evidence and arguments that convinced an Administrative Law Judge to reverse DOL’s denial.
However, the level of documentation required and the precision needed in distinguishing job duties makes professional legal assistance strongly advisable. As the Mammoser case demonstrates, DOL will closely scrutinize these applications, questioning everything from SOC code assignments to physical requirements.
Given the stakes involved and the complexity of the requirements, consulting with an experienced agricultural immigration attorney is typically a worthwhile investment. The precedents exist, but successfully applying them requires careful preparation and strategic presentation of your operation’s unique seasonal needs.
Why This Matters for Your Operation
Understanding H-2A seasonality requirements can:
- Help you properly structure your labor certification applications
- Avoid costly denials and delays
- Maximize your access to legal agricultural workers
- Ensure compliance with federal regulations
- Support long-term workforce planning
Looking Forward
As agriculture evolves and labor shortages persist, expect continued attention to H-2A seasonality requirements. Some in Congress are advocating to eliminate the seasonality requirement entirely, which would fundamentally change the program. Until then, understanding how to work within current rules while meeting legitimate seasonal labor needs remains crucial.
The key is honesty and accuracy. If your operation has genuine seasonal fluctuations requiring different types of agricultural work at different times of year, the H-2A program may provide a legal pathway for year-round labor access. If your needs are truly constant and year-round for the same work, H-2A likely isn’t the right fit for your operation.
Understanding these distinctions and planning accordingly can help ensure your agricultural operation has access to the legal workforce it needs while maintaining compliance with federal immigration law.
If you are weighing a two-season approach for your operation, a strategy consultation can test your seasons against the regulation before you file.
This analysis is based on current H-2A regulations and administrative precedents as of August 2026. Each agricultural operation’s circumstances are unique, and successful implementation of a two-season strategy requires careful evaluation of your specific seasonal needs and thorough documentation.
