Category: Management

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

0 Comments

Farm Labor: Tools for Motivating Employees

11/30/2014

0 Comments

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

0 Comments

Market Farming: Making Your Farm Work For You

11/26/2014

0 Comments

Title
Making Your Market Farm Work For You

Overview
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.

Outline
1. Context
2. Market Farming Fundamentals
3. Management
4. Managing Yourself
5. Managing the Farm
6. Managing the Money
7. Managing the Employees
8. Wrapping Up

Series
On The Farm

Topics
Business, Finances, Management, Marketing, Production, Scaling Up

Audience
Beginning Farmers

Length
4 - 6 hours

0 Comments

Farm Labor: Systems and Tools

11/14/2014

0 Comments

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

0 Comments

Market Farming: Growing and Adapting to Change

11/10/2014

0 Comments

Title
Growing and Adapting to a Changing Market: 15 Years of Organic Vegetable Farming

Overview
After fifteen years of organic vegetable farming in Iowa, Chris Blanchard paused to reflect on his experiences growing a market farm and what he had learned. From developing a market and riding the crest of the local foods wave to employee management and the growing pains of a small business, Chris Blanchard shares the joys and the pain of owning and operating a small organic market farm.

Outline
1. More Rutabagas Than You Think
2. Go Big or Go Home
3. Business School of Hard Knocks
4. Scale and Systems
5. CSA Scales
6. What I Learned From the Drought
7. What I Know

Series
On The Farm

Topics
Business, Management

Audience
All Farmers

Length
45 - 90 minutes

0 Comments

Management: Time and Productivity Management for Farmers

11/4/2014

0 Comments

Title
Too Many Rutabagas: Time and Productivity Management for Farmers

Overview
There’s always something to do on the farm, and nobody knows it better than the farmer. Chris Blanchard will show you ways to overcome the overload of information, tasks, and projects on your farm while you keep things from falling through the cracks with time and information techniques that will improve your business and your quality of life.

Outline
1. Three Tips to Change Your Life
2. Time and Productivity Matters on the Farm
3. The Challenge and Importance of Time and Priority Management
4. Goals for a Productivity System
5. No Free Rides
6. Workflow Details
7. Tools
8. It’s All Important
9. Where to Start
10. Getting Unstuck
11. Three Things To Remember

Series
On The Farm

Topics
Business, Systems, Management

Audience
All Farmers

Length
45 - 90 minutes

0 Comments