Good decision-making around the type and amount of labor needed on a farm enhances the farm household’s quality of life and increases the likelihood farmers will successfully meet their financial goals. This site provides tools and strategies to help small and medium-sized fruit and vegetable farms make informed labor decisions.

Events

  • Becoming the Employer of Choice for Vegetable Farmers

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    Becoming the Employer of Choice for Vegetable Farmers is an eight-session educational series designed to help farmers gain knowledge and skills to lead and manage teams in ways that improve production efficiency, product quality, employee satisfaction, labor retention and quality of life. The course is designed for farmers serving in an employer or manager role. Advance registration is required.

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  • Women Farmers Aging Strong: Rebuild and Recover

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    Women Farmers Aging Strong is a farmer-led, monthly online series for information, support and resource sharing to help farmers preserve and protect our most important farming tool...ourselves. This session focuses on the importance of protein and rest in your farming plan.

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  • Keeping Your Payroll Steady

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    Join FSA and The Carrot Project for a practical online workshop on how crop insurance and smart financial planning can keep your payroll steady, even in tough times. You will also hear the latest updates in crop insurance programs and how they can support your farm’s financial stability. Free. Advance registration

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Explore Resources

  • Dealing with Problems in the Workplace

    This short video from the Farm Manager Series addresses how to identify and deal with workplace problems. University of New Hampshire's Pat McCabe provides practical advice on how to diagnose the problem and its causes, and then how to work with employees to resolve it.

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  • Ending Employment

    A video from the Farm Manager Video SeriesThis video shares a process farmers can use to end employment legally and professionally.

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  • Insider Tips on Managing Farm Staff with Kate Donald

    Kate Donald has been farming for 20+ years, having worked on farms in California and Massachusetts before returning to here home state of New Hampshire. She and her husband Jeff co-own Stout Oak Farm, a Certified Organic vegetable farm in Brentwood, NH, where she works with a team of twelve employees to grow vegetables, microgreens, seedlings, and cut flowers. Kate also co-owns the local food hub Three River Farmers Alliance.

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  • Demystifying the H2A Program (article & podcast)

    The United States H-2A "guestworker" visa program allows farmers to hire workers from other countries to fill temporary/seasonal positions when local workers aren't available. Growing For Market has covered the H-2A program in both a 2021 online article and a 2023 podcast episode, offering first-hand perspectives and useful information to consider when deciding if the H-2A program could be a good fit for your operation.

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  • Workers' Compensation & Farm Businesses

    This document is an FAQ-style bulletin that helps farm business managers estimate the cost of workers' compensation for financial and business planning. It covers requirements, cost factors, and steps to obtain workers' compensation coverage. It was written by Rachel Armstrong of Farm Commons and last updated July 2024.

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