Located in:
- Program-Specific Requirements for Wagner-Peyser Program (Employment Services)
All Program-Specific Requirements provided for the WIOA core programs in this section must be addressed for either a Unified or Combined State Plan.
e. 3. An assessment of the unique needs of farmworkers means summarizing Migrant and Seasonal Farm Worker (MSFW) characteristics (including if they are predominantly from certain countries, what language(s) they speak, the approximate number of MSFWs in the State during peak season and during low season, and whether they tend to be migrant, seasonal, or year-round farmworkers). This information must take into account data supplied by WIOA Section 167 National Farmworker Jobs Program (NFJP) grantees, other MSFW organizations, employer organizations, and State and/or Federal agency data sources such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Employment and Training Administration
Current Narrative:
In recent years, West Virginia’s agricultural employers have increasingly been relying on the H-2A visa program to find qualified farmworkers, in keeping with national trends. As a result, most of West Virginia’s migrant farmworkers come from Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, Barbados, and South Africa as revealed in data gathered by WorkForce West Virginia outreach staff. The predominant language spoken by migrant farmworkers in the state is Spanish, though a sizable number of workers speak English as their native language. WorkForce local office staff in the eastern mountains have identified workers from Ethiopia and other countries who are employed at the local poultry plant.Currently we have seen a large influx of Haitian Creole workers in the Hardy County poultry plant. Outreach staff will work with employers prior to workers arriving to ensure that outreach materials such as farmworker rights, information on the complaint system and services available by other agencies is in a language that the workers can understand. The NFJP grantee provides heat stress and program information during the onboarding events for Pilgrims Poultry Plant on a weekly basis. While WorkForce West Virginia outreach staff are native Spanish speakers and can communicate effectively with the majority of MSFWs in the state, WorkForce will also work with partner agencies or rely on a handheld translator to effectively communicate with workers who speak languages other than Spanish or English.
In West Virginia, the peak agricultural season begins in July and runs through the end of November. During peak season, there are approximately 350 migrant/seasonal farmworkers in West Virginia. The non-peak season runs from December through June – the number of migrant/seasonal farmworkers during this period varies from a low of approximately 60 workers in January to a maximum of 200 by June.
West Virginia’s largest agricultural export is poultry. This industry is primarily located in the eastern part of the state. According to West Virginia University Extension, in the next five years, a large number of poultry growers are expected to retire, which may have important ramifications for the future of the poultry industry in West Virginia. As poultry growers retire, it is possible that the industry will turn more toward large corporate growers. At this time, it is unclear how such a change will impact employment in the poultry industry. West Virginia does have year-round farmworkers employed in the poultry processing industry. These workers receive outreach services from our NFJP partner in addition to services provided by WorkForce West Virginia.