Onboarding Project Helps Dairy Farms Get into Compliance

Cornell Agricultural Workforce Development is leading a broad-based effort including industry, producer groups and Cornell Cooperative Extension to build effective, on-farm new employee onboarding programs. The goal is to have employees who are “safe, productive, and engaged from day one.” A great onboarding program includes four components:

  1. Compliance: gets the farm into compliance with state and federal employment regulations.
  2. Clarity: clarifies work and safety expectations for the new employee and helps them learn their job quickly.
  3. Culture: establishes the values of the farm around important topics like safety, quality, and teamwork.
  4. Connection: encourages strong relationships among co-workers and with managers.

Farms participating in the Onboarding Project work with a Cornell Cooperative Extension educator or private consultant to develop and implements their own customized employee onboarding program. The project includes helpful tools and templates that farms can adapt to meet their specific needs. Corinne Banker of Blue Hill Farm in Morrisville, NY worked with Cornell staff to develop her farm’s onboarding program. Corinne said: “I am very happy with the program we developed. The template helped us get on track and we were quickly able to put together an organized and helpful program to follow the law, train new employees, and help them feel like part of the team.”

Now is a great time to put onboarding in place on your farm. New rules in New York apply to farm employers and the Onboarding Project can help get your business into compliance both for new and existing employees. Cornell educators and private consultants are currently recruiting dairy farms to include in the Onboarding Project. Contact Jessica Skellie, Cornell Farm Management Specialist by email at js2686@cornell.edu to apply to be part of the project.

Find more details in the: Onboarding Flyer.

The Onboarding Project is funded in part by the New York Farm Viability Institute and the Genesee Valley Regional Market Authority.

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