CASE STUDY
Meet the farm
Location: Foley, Minnesota
Crop specialty: Sweet corn, pumpkins
Peak season workers: 22
Seso solutions used
What they achieved
97%↓
Reduction in payroll time
+264
hours/month regained in crew productivity
$24-36K
saved in potential compliance fines
43↓%
Reduction in payroll software costs
About Stoney Brook Farms
Stoney Brook Farms is a third-generation produce farm in Minnesota, founded by the Chmielewski family in 2007. Nearly 20 years later, it spans 800 acres and specializes in sweet corn and pumpkins, among other vegetables. It’s also home to one of the state’s top agri-tourism destinations: an annual corn maze that earned the title of the world’s largest in 2022.
As general manager, Brad Chmielewski oversees everything from operations to payroll and HR for a team of 30 — including four managers, three truck drivers, and 22 seasonal H-2A workers.
CHALLENGE
Time-consuming payroll and H-2A audit risk
As the farm grew, so did the complexity of its operations. Brad was spending 2–4 hours every other week running payroll using QuickBooks — a general-purpose accounting tool not designed for the requirements of agricultural labor or the H-2A visa program.
“It’s hard for a company like that to understand the recordkeeping required for a program like H-2A,” Brad explained.
Transferring hours into QuickBooks manually often introduced errors and required adjustments before checks could be printed and distributed. Payroll wasn’t just a time burden for Brad — it impacted his workers as well. Without access to direct deposit, Stoney Brook’s H-2A employees had to visit local banks to cash paper paychecks, sometimes waiting up to three hours for the entire crew’s checks to be processed. From there, many spent additional time wiring money home.
At the same time, Stoney Brook’s existing systems and prior H-2A agents didn’t provide the documentation or support needed to stay compliant. As a result, the farm was caught off guard by two separate Department of Labor audits that resulted in steep penalties.
“I wasn’t prepared. I didn’t have the right documents,” Brad recalled. “It cost us between $12,000 and $18,000 each time.”
SOLUTION
One platform for time, pay, and compliance
Stoney Brook turned to Seso, an ag-specific labor management platform offering everything from H-2A filing, recruitment, and consulate services to time tracking, payroll, and paycard solutions built for agriculture.
Brad quickly adopted Seso Time & Payroll and became one of the first growers in the country to roll out Seso Paycards.
“I spent a total of five minutes doing payroll this morning,” Brad said. “It’s super sleek.”
With Seso, Brad was able to:
• Save time by eliminating double entry between timekeeping and payroll
• Easily assign paycards to workers through the platform
• Store all employment, housing, vehicle, and payroll records in one place
• Complete H-2A paperwork digitally — even while traveling during the off-season
For workers, the switch to Paycards brought immediate benefits:
“Our workers used to spend almost a whole day, every payday, cashing checks and transferring money. Now, they can do everything digitally with Paycards. They don’t have to worry about cashing their checks, and they can transfer money through the app right back to Mexico.”
RESULTS
Faster pay, higher productivity, and better audit readiness
Since partnering with Seso, Stoney Brook Farms has transformed its workforce operations:
• Payroll now takes just 5 minutes, down from 3 hours — a 97% time savings
• Annual payroll software costs dropped 43%
• 22 H-2A workers now save 6 hours every payday, reclaiming 264 hours/month in productive field time
• Estimated $24,000–$36,000 saved in potential compliance fines
Even before workers arrive in Minnesota, the benefits begin at the consulate.
“Our workers really like the consulate experience a lot. Seso gives these guys a lot more flexibility than the past two companies we worked with.”
Finally, with all records stored digitally and full support from Seso’s H-2A compliance team, Brad feels confident heading into the next audit.
“I’m not excited to get audited again,” Brad admitted. “But I do think I’ll be a lot more prepared this time.”
Ready to simplify your ag labor operations?
Talk to our team to see how you can pay workers faster and protect your bottom line with Seso H-2A Management, Worker Services, Payroll, and Paycards.
Join the hundreds of farms and FLCs who run their operations with Seso