Blog
Energy, Excellence, and Experience, in that order: Finding the very best H-2A workers.
As Ganaz board member, Peter Van Oppen, likes to say, “Energy, excellence, and experience in that order. Experience is sometimes necessary but never…
Ganaz Introduces A New Kind of H-2A Program
Ganaz proudly unveils its comprehensive H-2A program, an innovative solution designed to transform the recruitment and management of foreign agricultural…
The I-9 Form Evolution: Adapting to Changes and Minimizing Hiring Risks
The New Form I-9 is available now. Either form may be used through October 31, 2023. Starting November 1, 2023, only the new form may be used. Employers…
Improving the H-2A Experience for both Growers and Workers: Ganaz Introduces Comprehensive H-2A Program
Drawing on years of research involving conversations with growers, retailers, recruiters, and workers and a successful pilot season in Summer 2023, Ganaz is…
Ganaz Named AgTech Finance Solution of the Year
We are honored to announce that Ganaz has received the 2023 AgTech Finance Solution of the Year award by AgTech Breakthrough. Earlier this year, insights…
Ganaz is Honored with Geeks Give Back Award
We are honored to announce that Ganaz has received the 2023 Geeks Give Back award from GeekWire. With so many other companies in the Pacific Northwest…
Is your FLC properly supporting you in these 4 critical areas?
We spoke with FLC AgSocio, about how the company approaches its dual responsibility to workers and growers. Matt talks about how FLCs can deliver both legal…
Agricultural H-2A Employers: How to Manage 4 Key Risks
“There is a massive amount of regulation and responsibility on an employer [in the H-2A program], And it's a place where many people underperform… “ said Matt…
A Partnership to Bring Digital Remittances to Bankless Farmworkers
In its continued efforts to help create safer, fairer, and more profitable workplaces while providing the financial services needed to help workers forge a…
Washington Workplace Rules: 2023 Changes and Advice for Ag HR Professionals
Ganaz had a conversation with a WSTFA session’s panel member Chafeka Abdellatif, Director of Human Resources at Domex Superfresh Growers, on the top three…
The Future of U.S. Farm Labor: Is it Time to Consider H-2A?
More and more farms are turning to the H-2A Program to lean on a reliable source of labor. Nigel Bocanegra, Executive Director of the California Farm Labor…
Changes to H-2A are on the way! A Conversation with Nigel Bocanegra of CFLCA
We sat down with Nigel Bocanegra, Executive Director of the California Farm Labor Contractor Association (CFLCA) to help us digest H-2A updates and discuss…
5 things you need to know about the Farm Workforce Modernization Act (FWMA)
Finally, some help may be on the horizon: the Farm Workforce Modernization Act (FWMA). This bill already passed the House and is now in the hands of the…
Thinking about hiring H-2A farmworkers? Advice from Blue River farm
Many growers are opting into the current H-2A program to alleviate the burden of unreliable domestic recruitment. Tonya Forster, Business Manager at Blue…
Why More Growers are Hiring H-2A Farmworkers
Labor shortages are an obvious problem for the American agriculture industry. Time and time again, we hear there aren’t enough people wanting to do these…
Ganaz Named AgTech Finance Platform of the Year
We are honored to announce that Ganaz has received the 2022 AgTech Finance Platform of the Year award by AgTech Breakthrough. Earlier this year, insights…
Ganaz Announces Launch of Digital Pay Stubs, an Innovative Feature of the Ganaz Mastercard® Payroll Card
Ganaz announced the launch of digital pay stubs, an innovative new feature of the Ganaz MasterCard® Payroll Card, enabling employers and workers in…
The Hidden Costs of Paper Paychecks in Agriculture
“The efficiency to have everybody on direct deposit or payroll cards is going to be wonderful. I can’t imagine how anybody else would still keep printing out…
8 Practices to Encourage Farmworkers to Adopt Payroll Cards
Some farmworkers may never have used a debit or credit card, and need to understand why they should choose a payroll card over the more familiar paycheck…
Why NWFM is Moving Away From Paper Paychecks
“Some of the things that I see from working with this payroll card is just not having to chase employees around. So, it's just a lot of extra time that we…
I-9 Audits: The Cost of Non-Compliance
Hiring employees means complying with regulations around taxes, documentation and more… and non-compliance is expensive. I-9 Forms, which are used to verify…
A Hiring Manager's Perspective
We had a quick chat with Jose Garcia, an Area Manager for NWFM, an apple and cherry grower. Jose, like many other Hiring Managers, would hire from his truck…
Why is Above The Dirt switching their current payroll card?
Above The Dirt interview where Sherri Burris, HR Compliance Office Manager, and Sheila Waulters, AP Manager, shared why they opted to switch their current…
Communicating Effectively with Farmworkers: 5 Ways it Helps Your Farm
Effective communication can reduce labor costs, increase worker engagement, and save lives. We’re going to talk about the impact of effective workforce…
3 Impressive Advantages of Payroll Cards for Farmworkers
See what other farmworkers are saying about the Ganaz payroll card. Farmwork is a hard job. This is why you deserve to receive every cent of the money you…
8 Steps to Find and Hire Farmworkers for the Season
While finding the right employees has never been an easy task, labor shortages caused by the recent COVID-19 pandemic have made it even more challenging to…
How Payroll Cards can Help California Ag Employers Lower Risks
If you pay people late, even unintentionally, you can rack up large fines. Payroll cards solve this problem and you get the costs savings associated with…
Heatwaves Are Coming: 5 Things to Communicate to Farmworkers
Agricultural jobs necessitate extended periods of physically demanding labor, often in hot and humid weather. Farmworkers are more susceptible to heat-related…
What Are The Benefits Of Using A Payroll Card In Agriculture?
Although the world is progressing by leaps and bounds, the ag industry is still unable to move to direct deposit for most of its workforce. Fortunately…
Ganaz Announces Launch of Ganaz MasterCard® Payroll Card
Ganaz announced the launch of the Ganaz MasterCard® Payroll Card, enabling employers and workers in the agriculture and food processing industries to finally…
FirstFruits Farms Shares How They Simplify Hiring
Employers in the agriculture industry face unique challenges in developing effective workforce solutions. In this article, we examine how one company is…
Ganaz Secures $7 Million Series A Financing to Strengthen Working Families and the Essential Businesses that Supply our Food
Ganaz, the workforce management and financial services platform for agriculture and food manufacturing, today announced its $7M Series A financing led by…
Financial Services for Farmworkers: A checkered past and a brighter future
It was a hot summer afternoon in Quincy, WA. Tumbleweed bounced down the streets as buses of farm workers rolled into town. It was Friday--payday.
H-2A Programs in the Time of COVID
As employers gear up for busloads of H-2A’s to arrive in 2021, we share learnings and experiences from two H-2A employers, Amalia Zimmerman-Lommel, Director…
What 2020 Taught Us: Interview with Stemilt President West Mathison
While we all hope we are seeing a light at the end of the tunnel, the pandemic continues to spread through our communities, disrupting lives and businesses…
Ganaz Live Session at the CAFLCA Ag Labor Forum
We had a great time connecting with employers at the Ag Labor Forum. If you missed it, here’s the recording of our Live session where we demoed our tools and…
Ganaz ID Scanner App new version provides a seamless HR Onboarding experience.
The newest version of the ID Scanner app delivers 5 major improvements to the HR Employee Onboarding experience. All-in-one onboarding experience from the…
Rehire employees
We have launched a new functionality in our Hiring Tool: Rehire on mobile. You are now able to search for a person already on Ganaz and complete a new hiring…
Hiring Tool Update: Specify New Hire or Rehire
Many of our customers using the Ganaz Hiring Tool use payroll systems that require different processes to import employee data for New Hires vs Rehires…
COVID Education Resources for Employers and workers
While we’re finally seeing a flattening of the curve in the general population in the US, the reports of outbreaks among field and plant workers seem to be on…
One Employer’s COVID-19 Playbook
You might recognize Matt Roger’s name from his days as a Global Produce Coordinator at Whole Foods Market. Two years ago he traded that powerful job for the…
Keeping our food system strong during these uncertain times. Communication is key.
Together we are experiencing truly trying times as the global Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues to affect our communities and businesses. The…
All we want for Christmas is the Farm Workforce Modernization Act
$3.1B is lost each year as farms are unable to plant, harvest or process their crops due to the labor shortage. Just about every grower I know has a…
A better Employee Onboarding experience has arrived
Does this sound familiar? The season is about to start and you need to onboard over 50+ employees every day. The process is long and exhausting.
Industry Benchmarking Has Arrived
Ganaz is taking Employee surveys to the next level. Now you can compare how your workforce survey results measure up to the average of all the companies who…
10 Tips to Get Started with Workforce Surveys
Do you want to start doing workforce surveys but don't know where to start? Here are 10 useful tips to get you started.
Worker Engagement is the Secret to A&W’s High Quality Produce
What is the secret sauce to workforce engagement in agriculture? Andrew & Williamson Fresh Produce tell us how they use increased two-way communication to…
Get more data on your workforce: Ganaz surveys
The Ag industry has one of the highest turnover rates. That's why understanding the attitudes, challenges and feelings of farm workers is essential to your…
Driscoll's Interview: Part Two
Produce may move to a location where it seems like there’s plentiful labor and within a matter of a few years there’s a lot of competition for labor and it…
Driscoll's Interview: Part One
Two Driscoll’s Executives, Brian McElroy, the VP of Global Ethics and Standards, and Kelley Bell, VP of Social and Environmental Impact, took some time to…
Trump Backs House Bill Mandating E-Verify and Replacing H2A After Four Immigration Bills Fail in the Senate
In the wake of the failed Senate attempts, President Trump is now backing U.S. House Rep. Bob Goodlatte’s solution which mandates e-verify and overhauls the…
Interview with Superfresh Growers' Kristin Kershaw
Kristin Snapp of Domex Superfresh Growers has orchard work in her blood. She was just eleven years old when her dad told her to drive his truck....without any…
5 Steps to Prevent a #MeToo Problem in Your WorkPlace
As the #MeToo movement continues to spread and more survivors give voice to their experiences with sexual harassment, everyone from movie executives to farm…
Farmworker Wages up 3% in 2017; Average Now $12.51
On November 16, 2017, the USDA released its October 2017 survey data detailing that average wages for all hired workers are up 3% year-over-year and the…
Interview with Stemilt
West Mathison started his career in agriculture at the age of six, pulling weeds in the Stemilt nursery. As he grew up, he gained experience running crews in…
Interview with Andrew & Williamson
Andrew & Williamson’s Amalia Lommel has been deeply involved in agricultural human resources issues during her 24 years at the company. As the Director of…
What's your Net Promoter Score?
The Net Promoter Score was introduce by Fred Reicheld in 2003 after several years of customer satisfaction research. Reicheld found that not only could you…
A Replacement for H2A?
The Agricultural Guestworker Act (AG Act or H2C) would replace the H2A program and allow an additional 500,000 non-residents to work year-round on US farms…
Six Questions: How to detect sexual harassment?
On Saturday, as sexual harassment continued to make national headlines, the Yakima Herald brought the issue home to the agricultural community in WA state…
Six Questions Every Ag Employer Should Ask Themselves About Sexual Harassment (Part 1)
With a new bombshell dropping nearly every day implicating celebrities, politicians and business leaders in sexual harassment, employers may be starting to…
Labor Shortage Strategies: Satisfy, Stretch, Substitute, Supplement
A report in Rural Migration News describes the four strategies agricultural employers are using to address the labor shortage: satisfy, stretch, substitute…
$12+ per hour, the new normal?
As of April 2017, only six states in the US report average farmworker wages below $12/hour--AR, LA, MS, GA, SC and AL. This USDA wage survey data includes…
How to text 1000 farmworkers in less than a minute
Did you know that about 8.6 trillion text messages are sent each year? That includes 6 billion per day in the US alone. And farmworkers are no exception to…
