Onboarding Seasonal Farm Employees - Get Organized for 2021!

• Do you bring groups of seasonal employees onto your farm?
• Every year do you say that NEXT year you will be more organized when they arrive?
• Do you find it challenging to keep up with all of the regulatory requirements for bringing on a new employee?

Then Onboarding Seasonal Farm Employees is for YOU!

Attend this 1.5-hour, on-line program Best Practices for Onboarding Seasonal Workers.  Learn the key things you should have in place to be ready to welcome a group of seasonal workers.  This program will follow an onboarding guide, Onboarding Seasonal Farm Employees, that was developed by Liz Higgins, CCE Eastern NY Commercial Hort Team, Mark Wiltberger, CCE Lake Ontario Fruit Program, and Richard Stup, CCE Ag Workforce Development Program.  The onboarding guide covers:

• required paperwork and documentation for a new hire, including seasonal, migrant workers.
• required trainings (with an emphasis on fruit and vegetable farms) and guides for developing a training plan
• tips for bringing on new employees and having them productive from day 1, especially when you are up to your eyeballs in work!
• tips for creating a welcoming environment where employees feel connected to their workplace and competent on the job.

When you enroll in this program you will receive a hard copy of the guide by mail and be automatically enrolled in all follow-up education, networking and technical assistance offered by the Onboarding Seasonal Farm Employees Program to help you have an on-boarding plan ready by March 2021.

In February 2021 you will have access to 4-weeks of on-line, personalized assistance to finalize your 2021 plan.  This program, Developing Your Farm's Onboarding Plan for Seasonal Workers, will be a combination of on-line webinars with CCE, NYCAMH, NYS DOL and US DOL, and experienced NYS farmers; online discussion; and access to resources to help you as you get ready for 2021.  You will also receive one-on-one technical assistance from CCE and Ag Workforce Development staff on your on-boarding plan and an opportunity to communicate with other farms in NYS who are working on their plans too.  This program will be self-paced, so we can accommodate your schedule.

This project is supported by a grant from Northeast Extension Risk Management Education under USDA/NIFA award number 2018-70027-28588.