Category: Labor

Farm Labor: Systems for Efficiency and Accountability

12/1/2014

Title
Systems for Accountability and Efficiency on the Market Farm

Overview
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. Chris Blanchard has worked with farmers throughout the Midwest to develop systems that make it easy to achieve reliable results throughout your farming operation. He'll share what he’s learned about making it easy for employees to get the right things done at the right time and in the right way, without needing a manager looking over their shoulders all the time.

Series
On The Farm

Topics
Labor, Management, Systems

Audience
All Farmers

Length
45 - 90 minutes

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Farm Labor: Tools for Motivating Employees

11/30/2014

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

Overview
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. Chris Blanchard will discuss how to create a productive, positive work environment by communicating clear expectations and implementing systems for efficiency and accountability. This workshop will cover systems for removing emotion from management decisions and actions, implementing effective leadership, practical tools to increase employee satisfaction and productivity, employee recruitment and dismissal, and how to collect and use labor information to make operational and investment decisions.

Outline
1. What are employees for?
2. Leadership through inspiration, accountability, authority & support
3. Using systems to remove emotion from management
4. Creating pathways to accountability and efficiency
5. Specific tools to achieve workplace satisfaction and productivity for all

Series
On The Farm

Topics
Labor, Management, Systems

Audience
All Farmers

Length
120 - 240 minutes

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Farm Labor: Systems and Tools

11/14/2014

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Title
Systems and Tools for Managing Employees on the Farm

Overview
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. Chris Blanchard will show you how to create a productive, positive work environment by communicating clear expectations and implementing systems for efficiency and accountability.

Outline
1. Thoughts on Labor
2. Capacity
3. Invest in People
4. Strength in the Workplace
5. Employee Manuals
6. Hiring and Firing
7. Timekeeping and Payroll
8. Systems for Accountability and Efficiency
9. Invest in Systems
10. Safe and Healthy
11. Automation

Series
On The Farm

Topics
Labor, Management, Systems

Audience
All Farmers

Length
120 - 300 minutes

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Farm Labor: Saving Labor on the Market Farm

11/1/2014

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Title
Saving Labor on the Market Farm

Overview
Market farming is all about moving stuff around; whether you're moving vegetables from the soil to the packing house, water from the well to your transplants, or seeds from their packet to the soil. 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 better understand the systems and tools for seeding crops in the field and greenhouses, transplanting sets, pruning and greenhouse crop maintenance, weeding tools, harvesters, post-harvest handling, materials handling, and record-keeping.

Outline
1. Overview
2. Capacity
3. Invest in People
4. Invest in Systems
5. Safe and Healthy
6. Automation
7. Saving Time and Work
8. Seeds and Transplants
9. Irrigation
10. Weeds
11. Picking and Packing

Series
On The Farm

Topics
Labor, Production, Systems

Audience
All Farmers

Length
90 - 180 minutes

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