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<p>NESCOPECK TWP. &#8212; Township supervisors voted 3-0 this week to grant a conditional use request by Douglas Zehner of Route 93 to house up to 15 migrant workers at two houses on his farm property for harvesting work in September and October.</p><p>Zehner said he utilizes about 50 acres of his land to raise pumpkins and is regarded as one of the largest pumpkin growers in Pennsylvania.</p><p>Supervisors approved his request following a public hearing, presided over by Anthony McDonald, township solicitor. Under questioning by McDonald, Zehner outlined that the workers would come to the Nescopeck-Berwick area under a federally supervised program. He said the workers would be completely vetted and will have work visas.</p><p>Zehner plans to use the migrant workers for just a two-month period. Federal regulations, however, permit them to be in the United States for up to eight months.</p><p>Compensation, Zehner said, would be $12 per hour.</p><p>After the hearing, Zehner said he expected the workers to be Mexican nationals. He said he learned of the farm-labor initiative, known as the H2A program, through fellow growers in North Carolina. He said his agent is Theresa Ward, of North Carolina.</p><p>According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website, the program &#8220;allows U.S. employers or U.S. agents who meet specific regulatory requirements to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary agricultural jobs.&#8221;</p><p>Zehner added that President Donald Trump&#8217;s son uses H2A workers in the family vineyards in Virginia.</p><p>Besides receiving township approval, Zehner said he must also go through a housing inspection and permit process by officers from the state Department of Labor.</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Tom Huntington</p></bylineMeta></div>

Nescopeck Township approves farmer’s plan to use migrant workers