Peace of mind

Photos courtesy of Hoffman Nursery

In July of 2021, Hoffman Nursery explored hiring an H-2A firm to help them hire much needed workers. Hoffman Nursery is known for ornamental and native grasses and the Rougemont, North Carolina nursery ships liners to wholesale customers across the U.S. With a new expansion to its production facility and a state-of-the-art greenhouse, the company was ready to grow. But for the business to grow, Hoffman Nursery needed more workers to grow and ship more products, says Craig Reynolds, senior director of operations with Hoffman Nursery.

“We were at a point in our nursery where in order for us to grow, we physically needed bodies,” Reynolds says.

They began looking at different ways to solve that problem, including working with H-2A firms such as Legacy Labor, Inc.

Hoffman Nursery interviewed four different companies that were providers of H-2A services. Reynolds says there were several factors that led to the nursery selecting Legacy Labor. No. 1 was interest in their business, the nursery and how it worked, which was vital to understanding their labor needs.

“They even took the time to come from Cadillac, Michigan down here specifically to look at our operation,” Reynolds says. “(CEO and co-founder) David Judah explained the entire process, because we were new at this. He took time to answer all of our questions and follow-ups.”

Other labor firms didn’t provide the same level of service, Reynolds says. He was concerned that once the workers reach the border, the other labor firms would essentially wash their hands of the job and leave everything up to Hoffman.

The strain of managing the payroll, complying with the regulations, and understanding everything required to run the program through the Department of Labor and Department of Homeland Security would have added too much extra work for the existing staff.

“If we had done it ourselves, we’d have had to hire additional people just to manage the program,” he says.

As Hoffman ramps up production, they’ve added H-2A workers. In 2022, they had 24 workers. In 2023, they increased to 26 and in the next few years they may increase again to 30-35.

“Legacy labor has really been a true partner in our needs,” Reynolds says. “They’ve been extremely quick to respond to any questions we’ve had. They’ve given us a call to tell us what’s going on with federal regulations or any changes that may be coming up. Justin (Bartlett) and David have truly been an asset to our organization. They’re interested in our growth because the more that we grow the more they’re going to be able to grow with us.”

Reynolds says the quality of the workers Legacy Labor has brought in and the communication with them is fantastic. When the nursery needs to shift from shipping to production, the H-2A workers Legacy Labor provide are able to adapt quickly.

Legacy Labor’s project manager helps get the workers settled in, then goes over regulations with them and the Department of Labor. Hoffman received a designation from the state of North Carolina as a Gold Star Grower provider for H-2A programs. That means housing, regulations all passed compliance inspections prior to occupancy. The Gold Star Grower Housing Program recognizes growers who provide farmworker housing that meets and exceeds all of the requirements of the Migrant Housing Act of North Carolina.

Hoffman has two identical five-bedroom mobile homes that are capable of housing 28 people total, one in each nursery location. Legacy Labor has one committed supervisor for each house. The company has very strict regulations for the worker housing; they have a cleaning schedule and no alcohol permitted on the property. Hoffman inspects the property every one or two weeks and always comes up with no issues. And when the employees leave at the end of the season, Legacy Labor hires a cleaning service for the trailers. Reynolds says the company eases the burden of H-2A for the Hoffman crew.

“To us, it’s been a real blessing because I need 26 people on Jan. 15 and they go home on Nov. 1,” he says. “I do not have to worry about it.”

For more: www.hoffmannursery.com