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Agricultural, horticultural and other small business employers have a new Web site to help them comply with state and federal labor laws and regulations. This new employer tool is provided by Mid American Ag and Hort Services (MAAHS) and was made possible by financial assistance from Indiana's Office of the Commissioner of Agriculture, USDA Block Grants on Specialty Crops and Promotion of Agriculture and OSU Extension Ag and Hort Labor Education Program.

The site, www. midamservices.org, includes links to the portions of numerous state and federal government sites that tell employers what they need to know. Topics covered include temporary guestworker programs such as H-2A, H-2B and H-1B along with the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act and social/language issues associated with the employment of foreign labor.

According to John Wargowsky, the organization's executive director, MAAHS is a consortium of associations, organizations and employers organized to meet the educational, regulatory compliance assistance and labor recruiting needs of agricultural and other employers in Ohio and Indiana. "This Web site complements the member services provided by MAAHS," Wargowsky said. "We will continue to add content based upon member needs and requests."

The Web site establishes the commitment of MAAHS and its sponsor members (Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, Indiana Farm Bureau, Ohio Nursery & Landscape Association, Ohio Florists' Association. Ohio Fruit Growers Society, Ohio Vegetable and Potato Growers Association, Ohio Landscapers Association and Nursery Growers of Lake County Ohio) to meeting the human resource needs of member employers.

For more information about MAAHS, contact Wargowsky via the Web site, or you may reach him at P.O. Box 182383, Columbus, OH 43218-2383, call 614-246-8286, fax 614-249-2200, or e-mail labor@ofbf.org