Hello. Has anybody here had experience on the US harvest trail in recent times? I was offered prospective employment with 2 or 3 American custom cutters via the Ohio International Program. Unfortunately, it appears that I don’t qualify for the temporary agricultural visa (H2A) due to my educational background and a lack of previous agricultural experience. 
I’ve also considered the option of trying north of the border for the fall harvest or maybe next year. However, a lot of the large Canadian firms seem to head south in search of crops. Therefore, I may possibly encounter similar difficulties with a Canadian crew.
Has anyone else had similar problems?
Send a PM to BigTruck - he has done the US Harvest run.
Thanks for the info. Btw, did you work at (Darren) Taylor Harvesting based in Lethbridge, Alberta by any chance?
Duck:
Thanks for the info. Btw, did you work at (Darren) Taylor Harvesting based in Lethbridge, Alberta by any chance?
No,
I worked at Altendorf Harvesting out of Minto ND but I know a few other N.Irish guys who went with Taylors in 03/04/05,think he has quit the custom harvesting business now.
balvis2011:
i heard this is diffcult to get,i was applied for australian visa and now it is processing
A H2A temp harvest/farm work visa is extremely easy to get as long as you have a custom harvester in the States who is familiar with using overseas temp drivers. 
I think “Duck” is actually over with Altendorf Harvesting on a H2A harvest visa ATM 
He will be working in NE Colorado or South Dakota by now. 
I contacted Altendorf but actually ended up with a Canadian crew. It was decided that I would stay North of the border on general trucking on a percentage deal. Everything would have been cool but then I received some distressing news from back home and eventually ended up seeking medical treatment as I wasn’t able to sleep or eat for about 2 weeks. Life’s a ■■■■■ isn’t it? Think you’ve got it all worked out and then BANG!! Now I’m back home and feeling a little better. Don’t know if I’ll be returning to Canada yet as I’ve still got authority to work there but I don’t know if it’s a wise move at this moment in time. Just a bit dissapointed because there was a lot of groundwork involved in getting back out there for the second time and I spent months setting it all up but never mind, somethings in life are more important. It won’t be long untill I’m up and running again and I’ll hopefully be posting some interesting photos and other stuff on this forum in the near future.
“LACK OF AGRICULTRAL EXPERIENCE” 
I seem to remember a member doing this work a few years back and ended up driving an antique GMC wreck around the farm, living in a run down wreck of a cabin for a pittance of a wage, being made promises that were never kept, running to Canada to get alternative driving emloyment, then getting deported.
It isnt’ the dream job you imagine and to give up a job you already hold in the UK for this is insane.
Big truck has done it but done it right in the past. Dont get carried away by a dream.
Was on the 2002 Season in mainly Arizona and Mississippi.
Don’t go thinking of $-Hours extremely long,we did 42 days straight in Arizona/Mexico border in summer(Better like hot weather) with 14-18 days the norm.
Take it as a working holiday when you don’t get paid 
Seriously looking back I had a great time,would I do it again?NO WAY!!!
The main thing is you have to get used to your crew,you will be working alongsidethem for 14 hours of the day,then you will be eating with them,sleeping in same quarters etc,Basically you are living in each others pockets,so patience and tolerence is a must.
Also check on what"Moral Standards" your employer requires,we worked alongside another crew that were forbidden to smoke-even off duty,any trace of alcohol-off duty -was instant dismissal,and God was the Lord.
But you get to see alot of the real USA and meet the people.
DUCK,i once was on the J1 exchange visa progamme on behalf of the Young farmers club,the contact we had was with Colombus University,at Ohio State.i went to a large dairy farm at Laingsburg near Lansing in Michigan,the farm was bankrupt,i only got paid when i left, by the bank that took on the dairy farm.
I was milking the cows 3 times a day,17 hour shifts,at the end i went on a 2 week Amtrak train trip all over the States.
I was then offered a posting in Corpus Christi,in Texas,but i took a position in Fort Lauderdale,working on a large tree planation and export nursery,the firm gave me and two other english lads a bungalow on site for our disposal.
Before going to the US,the YFC offered me a stint on the harvesting team.
I was 17 when i left in 1986.I later took on a cash in ■■■■■■■■ steel fixing on high rise construction,with no green card or experince,the guy said get some tools,start work,i bought a Kenny Roberts replica Yamaha YZ 350 ypvs,twin stroker,bike,that i shipped back to the uk.Wish i never bothered,got stung by the freight forwarder,as the shipping crate was twice the size of the bike,what a rip off.
Ohio state university run a program working with some of the more reputable US crews, Beckley harvesting being one of them. I decided I didn’t want to work on the harvest crew and was lucky enough to be offered a job on the general freight side. Having worked in many parts of the world I found life in Canada easy enough but was forced to return home due to some serious family issues. It’s not all bad news, there are a lot of good guys out there but you’ve got to go in to it with your eyes open. Canadian harvest will be starting shortly and I could go back out as my employer has been very understanding but I haven’t decided yet. In my case I can’t complain too much about Canada or the job, it’s just unfortunate that I’ve had to endure some upsetting personal problems but that’s part of life’s journey I suppose. I’ll try to upload some of my photos next week if anyone’s interested and hopefully there’ll be some more to come later in the year.