AEWR Changes for 2026-2027

H-2A Adverse Effect Wage Rates (AEWRs) for 2026-2027 are set to increase across the country, with a handful of exceptions. Released by the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Foreign Labor Certification, AEWRs represent the federally mandated minimum wage for H-2A guestworkers in each state. Notably, this set of AEWRs is the first full-year iteration of wages based on DOL’s new Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, as stipulated by the department’s Interim Final Rule (IFR) issued in October 2025. While these wage rates are a significant improvement from the previous wage structure, congressional action is still needed to ensure farm and ranchers can continue to grow the nutritious food our country depends on for our health and well-being.

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LaborAllie Shipley
Food for Peace Ship Loaded with Rice in Louisiana

A broad cross-section of farm, labor, maritime, and government officials met at the Port of New Orleans to celebrate the latest U.S. donation of rice and wheat through the Food for Peace Program. 

For more than 72 years, the Food for Peace program has delivered American-grown commodities like rice, wheat, and sorghum to people facing hunger across the globe for humanitarian reasons and as part of the United States’ exercising of soft power.

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USDA, RiceAvery Davidson
Louisiana Climate Weekly Summary: July 29-August 4, 2026

It was another dry 7-day monitoring period across the Bayou State continuing a recent string of dry periods; a frontal passage on August 1-2 did more harm than good by providing only localized areas of precipitation while reducing humidities and inducing breezy conditions thereafter, exacerbating the drying-out process.

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Avery Davidson