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Mid American Ag and Hort Services (MAAHS), a new organization for agricultural and other employers, will hold its inaugural employer seminar and annual meeting Feb. 26 at the Days Inn in Findlay. Registration starts at 9:30 a.m.; the program will end at 4 p.m.

MAAHS is a consortium of associations, organizations and employers organized to meet the educational, compliance assistance and labor recruiting needs of agricultural and other employers in Ohio and Indiana. It provides members educational materials, seminars, telephone consultation, guest-worker recruiting programs and more.

Libby Whitley, general manager of Mid-Atlantic Resources Association, will cover how the H-2A and H-2B programs work and their potential benefits to employers. Francisco Espinoza of Ohio State University Extension's Farm Labor Relations Program will address "Cultural and Social Issues within Hispanic Labor."

John Wargowsky, MAAHS executive director, and Tom Sachs, executive director of the Ohio Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association, will review a series of compliance issues related to labor contractors, child labor, harassment, OSHA field sanitation, Immigration Reform and Control Act, and Social Security mismatch letter handling. The MAAHS annual meeting and a discussion of how MAAHS will work with its employer members will follow lunch.

Members of MAAHS and other employers are welcome to register for the event. More information and the registration form are available on Ohio Farm Bureau's Web site at www.ofbf.org under "Upcoming Events." Those interested may also contact MAAHS by phone at 614-677-4530; by fax at 614-249-2200; by mail at PO Box 479, Columbus, OH 43216: or by e-mail at labor@ofbf.org. Registrations are requested by Feb. 20.

Current sponsor members of MAAHS include the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, Indiana Farm Bureau, Ohio Nursery & Landscape Association, Ohio Florists' Association, Ohio Fruit Growers Society, Ohio Vegetable and Potato Growers Association and Ohio Landscapers Association.