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Run Your Team: Tools for Managing and Motivating Employees on the Farm

12/8/2015

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Tuesday, December 8
Columbia, Missouri 

Event Link: Run Your Team - Tools for Managing and Motivating Employees on the Farm
Hosted By: Missouri Young Farmers Coalition

Presentation Summary
Employees make it possible to get more done, but managing workers and their work takes dedicated time, energy and processes. Whether you manage one seasonal worker or a large year-round crew, good management can make the difference between making headway on your farm's work or just creating headaches. Join veteran farmer and educator Chris Blanchard to learn how to create a productive, positive work environment by communicating clear expectations and implementing systems for efficiency and accountability.  In this workshop, you'll learn how to: utilize practical tools to increase employee satisfaction and productivity, remove emotion from management decisions and actions, and build a team culture.

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2015 Indiana Small Farms Conference

3/5/2015

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Thursday, March 5 - Saturday, March 7, 2015
Danville, Indiana


Event Link: Indiana Small Farms Conference
Organized By: Purdue Agriculture

The third Annual Indiana Small Farm Conference with pre-conference workshop activities taking place on Thursday, March 5th. With numerous networking activities, this conference provides small farmers with many opportunities to learn and interact with other farmers, producers, extension educators, researchers, and students.

Chris' Presentations:

Making Your Market Farm Work for You
Thursday, March 5, 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Your market farm should work for you, in addition to you working for your  farm – and that requires you to take care of your vegetables and your business, as well as your life. Learn how you can put it all together, from the market farming fundamentals of weed control, irrigation, post-harvest handling, and marketing, to the management of your farming systems, employees, and finances. From big ideas down to practical examples, consultant, educator, and veteran farmer Chris Blanchard draws on 25 years of farming experience around the country at a wide variety scales to provide this engaging session that will help you understand and control the factors that lead to a profitable market farm that won’t drive you and your family crazy.​

Please note: this pre-conference workshop is offered at an additional charge beyond the standard conference registration.

Capturing and Organizing Data for GAPs, Organic Certification, and other Endeavors

Friday, March 6, 9:00 AM
Paperwork can be the bane of the certified-organic, GAPs-audited, and financially-aware farmer. Learn how to capture information, get on top of your paperwork, and wow your inspector, auditor, and banker. Consultant and veteran farmer Chris Blanchard will provide an overview of the basic techniques he and his crew use to gather information and keep it organized for easy access with a minimum of effort.

Evaluating Investments and Operational Changes

Friday, March 6, 1:30 PM
Want to purchase new equipment? Thinking of expanding your operation? This presentation will show you the tools you need to evaluate your options. You’ll get a down-to-earth approach to help you better understand the economic and other impacts of investments and operational changes, including a look at practical tools like partial budget analysis and investment analysis, as well as considerations for quality of life and business development.


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2015 MOSES Organic Farming Conference

2/26/2015

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Thursday, February 26 - Saturday 28, 2015
La Crosse, Wisconsin


Event Link: MOSES Organic Farming Conference
Organized By: Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service (MOSES)

The MOSES Conference is the largest event in the U.S. about organic and sustainable farming. Every February this event draws more than 3,000 farmers, advocates, educators, students, and others to the La Crosse Center in La Crosse, Wis., for educational workshops, inspiring keynote speakers, and a two-floor Exhibit Hall open exclusively to conference attendees.

Chris' Presentations:

Too Many Rutabagas: Time and Productivity Management for Farmers
Friday, February 27, 10:30 AM
There’s always something to do on the farm, and it can be overwhelming. We’ll look at ways to overcome the overload of information, tasks, and projects. This workshop combines simple yet elegant principles of time and information management with practical examples of their application to life on the modern farm.  You’ll come away with tools to get on top of your game, improve your business, and maximize your quality of life.

Productive Packing House

Saturday, February 28, 11:00 AM
On a vegetable farm, the magic happens in the packing house. And the best magic happens when your packing house works smoothly and provides a food-safe environment. We’ll look at the principles and practices that you can use to make the most of your current packing facility, as well as what to consider if you have the opportunity to start from scratch. Covered topics include workflow, ergonomics, storage considerations, and food safety.


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Costs, Pricing, and Wholesale Marketing

2/20/2015

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Friday, February 20, 2015
Cedar Rapids, Iowa


Event Link: Costs, Pricing, and Wholesale Marketing
Organized By: Iowa Valley Resource Conservation & Development

Presentation Summary
Being a sustainable farmer is more than the farming methods you use, it also means ensuring you can stay in business regardless of your marketing outlet. Veteran farmer and consultant Chris Blanchard will help you navigate pricing strategies to meet your customer needs and your farm's bottom line, and discuss strategies and techniques for reaching out to - and retaining - buyers from stores, restaurants, and wholesale distributors.

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Southern SAWG Conference: Practical Tools and Solutions for Sustaining Family Farms General Conference

1/14/2015

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Wednesday, January 14 - Saturday, 17, 2015
Mobile, Alabama


Event Link: Practical Tools and Solutions for Sustaining Family Farms Conference
Organized By: Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group (SAWG)

The 24th annual Southern SAWG conference is for serious organic and sustainable producers, farm to school participants, urban farmers or those interested in creating more vibrant community food systems. The event offers informative pre-conference courses and field trips, practical conference sessions, networking, trade show, Taste of Alabama event and more. Each year, participants go home with information to use immediately to improve their operations. Click here for more information.

Chris' Presentations:

Making Your Market Farm Work for You
Thursday, January 15, 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Your market farm should work for you, in addition to you working for your farm — and that requires taking care of your vegetables and your business, as well as your life. Learn how you can put it all together, from the market farming fundamentals of weed control, irrigation, post-harvest handling and marketing, to the management of your farming systems, employees and finances. Consultant, educator and farmer Chris Blanchard will help you understand and control the factors that lead to a profitable market farm without driving you and your family crazy. Chris will draw on 25 years of farming experience to provide both big ideas and practical examples in this engaging session.

(Please note, this pre-conference mini-course requires pre-registration.)

Saving Labor (Saving Money!) on the Market Farm
Friday, January 16, 9:00 AM
Market farming is all about moving stuff around, whether you're moving vegetables from the field to the packing house, water from the well to your transplants, or seeds from packets to the soil. We'll explore efficient systems and practical tools used by successful market farms for seeding crops in the field and greenhouses, transplanting sets, pruning and greenhouse crop maintenance, weeding, harvesting, post-harvest handling, materials handling, and record-keeping.

Ten Things to Think About When Starting a Market Farm
Friday, January 16, 1:30 PM
Getting started in market farming means more than just growing vegetables. It means taking on the responsibilities of owning a business, managing markets, grappling with philosophies, and managing a labor force. Join Chris Blanchard, who has over 20 years experience in managing and owning a market farm, for a look at ten things to think about as you prepare the ground for starting your farm, or as you seek to expand your market farm into a significant income-generator for yourself and your family.

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Atlantic Canadian Organic Regional Network (ACORN) Annual Conference

11/12/2014

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Wednesday, November 12 - Friday, 14, 2014
Halifax, Nova Scotia


Event Links: Atlantic Canadian Organic Regional Network (ACORN) Annual Conference
Organizer By: Atlantic Canadian Organic Regional Network (ACORN)

ACORN’s conference is a fun, three-day event that brings together organic and sustainable farmers, processors and businesses from across the region—and beyond!


Chris' Presentations:

Panel: Pricing
Wednesday, November 12, 1:20 PM
This panel featuring Michelle Summer Fike, Chris Blanchard and regional farmers participating in ACORN's Organic Price Tracker initiative, will delve into some tough questions about pricing your organic products, from considerations about direct sales at the Farmers' Market, through your CSA or Farm Stand, or selling to retailers, restaurants or caterers, this workshop will discuss it all, with an interactive panel approach to generate discussion and hear ideas from participants.

Systems for Accountability and Efficiency for Direct Marketers
Wednesday, November 12, 3:40 PM
Whether you manage one seasonal worker or a large year-round crew, good management can make the difference between making headway on your farm's work, or just creating headaches. Consultant and veteran farmer Chris Blanchard has worked throughout the Midwest to develop systems that make it easy to achieve reliable results throughout your operation.

Ten Things to Think About When Getting Started in Market Farming
Thursday, November 13, 9:00 AM
Getting started in market farming means more than just growing vegetables. It means taking on the responsibilities of owning a business, managing markets, grappling with philosophies, and managing a labor force. Join Flying Rutabaga Works' Chris Blanchard for a look at ten things to think about as you prepare the ground for starting your market farm, or as you seek to expand your market farm into a significant income-generator for yourself and your family.

Fresh Culinary Herb Production on the Organic Farm
Thursday, November 13, 1:00 PM

Fresh-cut herbs can provide an attractive addition to the farmers market, CSA, or wholesale market farm, but they have unique requirements for production, post-harvest handling, and marketing. Join Chris Blanchard for this overview of propagation, field production, harvest strategies and techniques, and marketing.

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Evaluating Investments and Operational Changes

9/16/2014

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Tuesday, September 16, 2014 
Online

Organized By: Midwest Organic Sustainable Education Service (MOSES)

Presentation Summary
Want to purchase new equipment? Thinking of expanding your operation? This free webinar will show you the tools you need to evaluate your options. You’ll get a down-to-earth approach to help you better understand the economic and other impacts of investments and operational changes, including a look at practical tools like partial budget analysis and investment analysis, as well as considerations for quality of life and business development. 

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Planning for Growth

8/5/2014

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Tuesday, August 5, 2014 
Online

Organized By: Countryside Conservancy

Presentation Summary
In the local foods movement, everybody's talking about "scaling up" - but what does that mean for your farm's operations, business, and quality of life? Join me for a lunch-hour session (at least in the Eastern time zone) on Planning for Growth, exploring the practical impacts and requirements of increasing the size of your business.

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2014 New Farmer Summit

4/4/2014

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Friday, April 4, 2014 
Belleville, Wisconsin

Event Link: New Farmer Summit
Organized By: Midwest Organic Sustainable Education Service (MOSES)

Chris' Presentations:

With 24 workshops focused on the issues that are on the minds of new farmers, the MOSES New Farmer Summit is sure to be a great show. Add in daily large-group strategy sessions, formal informal networking, a seed swap, and local, organic food, and I don't think there's any way that a young farmer can afford to miss this!

I'll be presenting here on scaling up (or not), record-keeping, and things to think about when you're getting started in market farming.

Follow-up: I have had several request for the slides from my Capturing Data workshop, as well as the forms used in the lot-coding example. I've linked to these here:

  • Capturing Data slideshow handouts
  • Harvest Plan and Log from Rock Spring Farm
  • Packing Plan and Log from Rock Spring Farm
  • Shipping Log from Rock Spring Farm
  • Lot Code Instructions from Rock Spring Farm

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2014 MOSES Organic University: Making Your Market Farm Work for You

2/27/2014

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Thursday, February 26, 2014 
LaCrosse, Wisconsin

Event Link: http://mosesorganic.org/events/organic-university/ 

Organized By: Mosesorganic.org

Chris' Presentations:

Your organic market farm should work for you, in addition to you working for your farm—and that requires taking care of your vegetables and your business, as well as your life. Learn how you can put it all together, from irrigation and weed control to employee management and organizing your life. With practical examples and big ideas from farms and businesses around the Midwest, this engaging session will help you understand and control the factors that lead to a profitable market farm that won’t drive you and your family crazy.


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Purple Pitchfork is a project of Renewing the Countryside, a non-profit dedicated to rural revitalization and collaborative farmer education that serves as the home for these resources Chris Blanchard created.
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