The Cornell Small Farms Program has grant funding available for farms to receive technical assistance with developing human resource management practices and tools. Selected farms will be matched with a “Smart Farming Team” of consultants who will provide one on one technical assistance with items such as:
- Hiring Employees 101 – Getting Off To A Good Start
- On Boarding & Training Employees Quickly And Effectively
- Fine-Tuning & Improving The Working Environment
- H2-A Readiness
For Application Instructions: Click here
Please complete this application and send to Nicole Waters, Beginning Farm Project Coordinator for the Cornell Small Farms Program. The form can be submitted by email, mail or in-person at the address listed below. Please feel free to call or email with any questions.
Nicole Waters – Beginning Farmer Project Coordinator
Plant Science Building, Room 15b
Tower Road, Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853
Phone: 607-255-9911
Email: nw42@cornell.edu
Don’t forget to sign up for Supervisory Skills Training next week!
Leading people is the most important job in agriculture today!
Whether you are an experienced farm manager or a new frontline supervisor, it takes leadership skills to be effective. We’re planning two workshops in eastern and western New York that will provide hands-on supervisory leadership development for farm supervisors and managers.
Cost for each session is $50/person and you can register at the links below.
March 5 – March 6, 2019, Effective Management of Farm Employees: Eastern NY Session. Wallace Center, FDR Presidential Library and Museum, 4079 Albany Post Road, Hyde Park, NY 11040.
March 13 – March 14, 2019, Effective Management of Farm Employees: Western NY Session. Rotary Lodge, Greece Canal Park,
241 Elmgrove Rd, Rochester, NY 14626.
Key topics include:
- Moving From Individual Performer to Supervisor – “People don’t leave bad companies, they leave bad managers.” The skills that make someone a top performer on the farm do not necessarily translate to being a great manager of people but supervisors are often selected from the pool of high performers in an organization to reward them for their contribution to the organization, without consideration of their people management skills or aptitude. This session will help you identify the skills needed to be a great supervisor of people, and how you can develop and apply those skills on your farm.
- Overview of Labor Laws Affecting Farm Managers – Every farm manager should have a basic understanding of farm labor laws and regulations. This brief session will cover the key programs and identify resources to help you stay in compliance.
- Onboarding New Employees – Onboarding is a relatively new term that describes the process of bringing new employees into the business. The goal of onboarding is to have safe, productive, and engaged farm employees, from day one. Learn to create an employee onboarding program for your farm with clearly assigned responsibilities, designed training experiences, full regulatory compliance, and basic evaluation. You will also learn about the onboarding program being developed by a team of ag industry professionals and how your farm can participate.
- Performance Management – This is where the rubber hits the road in management. One of the hardest challenges of management is effectively communicating performance expectations to employees and ensuring that those expectations are carried out. This session will cover effective communication, developing training and assessment programs that get your employees off to a good start and providing timely and supportive feedback to get the best out of your staff.
Please share this opportunity with any farm managers and staff who may be interested. The workshops are open to all sectors of agricultural production.
