Category: Risk Management - Purple Pitchfork

Farm Finances: Evaluating Investments and Operational Changes

11/28/2014

Title
Evaluating Investments and Operational Changes

Overview
Want to purchase new equipment? Thinking of expanding your operation? This workshop shows 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.

Series
On The Farm

Topics
Business, Finances, Risk Management, Scaling Up

Audience
All Farmers

Length
45 - 90 minutes

Scaling Up: Is It Right For You?

11/27/2014

Title
Bigger Isn’t Always Better: Is Scaling Up Right For Your Farm?

Overview
With all of the talk about "scaling up", it's easy to lose sight of the fundamental question: is growing on more acres right for you and your farm? This session explores the impacts of getting bigger, from risks and investment to business development and lifestyle consequences, and looks at other ways to increase farm income and sustainability.

Outline
I. Scale
2. Markets
3. Anticipating Impacts
4. Assessing Resources
5. Investment and Growth

Series
In The Market

Topics
Business, Risk Management, Scaling Up

Audience
Beginning Farmers (<10yrs)

Length
45 - 90 minutes

Food Safety: Twelve Simple Steps

11/25/2014

Title
Twelve Simple Steps to Food Safety

Overview
As the demand for local and organic food has exploded in the last five years, so has the expectation on the part of consumers and institutional buyers for production and handling systems designed to minimize microbial contamination. Chris Blanchard guides you through twelve simple steps you can take to put you and your farm on the way to safe food production.

Outline
1. Food safety overview
2. Hand-washing
3. Illnesses
4. Excluding animals
5. Cleaning and sanitizing
6. Water quality and management
7. Clothing selections
8. Manure management
9. Keeping functions separate
10. Equipment and facilities selections
11. Keeping produce cool to prevent pathogen growth
12. Recall systems

Series
In The Field

Topics
Food Safety, Risk Management

Audience
All Farmers

Length
45 - 90 minutes

Farm Records: Practical GAPs Compliance Techniques

11/21/2014

Title
Practical GAPs Compliance for Organic Farmers

Overview
From restaurants to college dining halls, wholesale buyers have begun demanding food safety assurances, and now the Food Safety Modernization Act has opened the door for FDA regulation of the production and handling of fresh vegetables and produce. Chris Blanchard will present a review of post-harvest handling practices, and the methods developed at Rock Spring Farm for meeting the documentation and records management requirements of the GAPs audit process in a way that flows with the work on the farm, rather than existing as a separate set of tasks and requirements.

Outline
1. Easy Steps to Safer Produce
2. Understanding the GAPs Audit Verification System
3. Writing Your Food Safety Plan
4. Record Keeping
5. Trace back
6. More Paperwork (or not)
7. Where Does the Info Go?
8. Wrapping Up

Series
On The Farm

Topics
Business, Food Safety, Records Management, Risk Management

Audience
All Farmers

Length
45 - 90 minutes

Farm Finances: Setting Up and Managing Your Financials

11/20/2014

Title
Fearless Farm Finances

Overview
Chris Blanchard provides insights into developing a robust business model for your farming operation. Chris will review the financial and management systems you need to grow a profitable farm, with information about making and monitoring a budget, creating and understanding financial statements, improving profitability, and avoiding financial train wrecks.

Outline
1. Goals
2. Think (about getting) Big
3. Capacity
4. Invest in Systems
5. Invest in People
6. Budgeting
7. Monitoring
8. Financial Statements
9. Balance Sheet
10. Income Statement
11. Statement of Cash Flows
12. Ratios and Analysis
13. Solvency
14. Am I Making Money?
15. Improving Profitability

Series
On The Farm

Topics
Business, Finances, Records Management, Risk Management, Systems

Audience
All Farmers

Length
180 minutes

Post-Harvest Handling: A to Z

11/18/2014

Title
Post-Harvest Handling, Food Safety and GAPs Compliance

Overview
As the demand for local and organic food has exploded in the last five years, so has the expectation on the part of consumers and institutional buyers for production and handling systems designed to minimize microbial contamination. Chris Blanchard, who has been through the audit process and helped others through it as well, will present a review of practical food safety, how to develop a written food safety plan, and how to set up records management systems that support business processes rather than existing outside of the system.

Outline
1. Simple Steps to Safer Produce
2. Post-Harvest Handling Systems and Principles
3. Snoop the Poop Interactive Session
4. Understanding the Audit Verification System
5. Creating Your Food Safety Plan
6. Automatic Failures
7. Rock Spring Farm’s Plan and Implementation
8. General Questions
9. Worker Health and Hygiene
10. Farm Review
11. Field Harvest and Field Packing
12. House Packing Facility
13. Storage and Transportation
14. Inspections
15. Traceability and Record Keeping

Series
In The Field

Topics
Food Safety, Post-Harvest Handling, Production, Records Management, Risk Management

Audience
All Farmers

Length
4 - 8 hours

Farm Records: Capturing and Organizing Data

11/16/2014

Title
Capturing and Organizing Data for GAPs, Organic Certification, and Other Endeavors

Overview
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. Chris Blanchard will provide an overview of the basic techniques he and his crew used to gather information and keep it organized for easy access with a minimum of effort.

Outline
1. Best Practices
2. What We Track
3. Outflows
4. Inflows
5. Money
6. Accounts
7. Class
8. Items
9. Customers
10. Collect
11. Process
12. Data Entry and Storage
13. Actions and Time
14. Where Does the Info Go?

Series
On The Farm

Topics
Business, Finance, Food Safety, Records Management, Risk Management

Audience
All Farmers

Length
60 - 180 minutes

Food Safety: The Basics and Beyond

11/11/2014

Title
Food Safety Basics Expanded Training

Overview
As the demand for local and organic food has exploded in the last five years, so has the expectation on the part of consumers and institutional buyers for production and handling systems designed to minimize microbial contamination. Chris Blanchard will guide you through twelve simple steps you can take to put you and your farm on the way to safe food production, including practical food safety, and the steps you can take to put you and your farm on the path to safe food production.

Outline
1. Twelve Simple Steps to Food Safety
2. Snoop the Poop
3. Audits and Plans
4. Creating Your Food Safety Plan
5. Worker Health and Hygiene
6. Farm Review
7. Field Harvest and Field Packing Audit Requirements
8. Storage Audit Requirements
9. Audit and Inspection

Series
In The Field

Topics
Food Safety, Risk Management

Audience
All Farmers

Length
180 - 240 minutes

Post-Harvest Handling: Keeping It Fresh and Clean

11/6/2014

Title
Play Clean: Post-Harvest Handling for Profit and Pulchritude

Overview
Growing great vegetables is only the start. To succeed in market farming, you need to maintain quality and present a product that looks good and lasts after you harvest it. Chris Blanchard has managed post-harvest operations and worked with growers around the country at a variety of scales, and this workshop will provide you with the information you need to help your produce reach and maintain the peak of freshness.

Outline
1. Produce Buyers
2. Quality
3. Temperature
4. Humidity
5. Cleanliness
6. Food Safety
7. Facilities and Product Flow
8. Materials Handling
9. Keep Perspective

Series
In The Field

Topics
Food Safety, Post Harvest Handling, Risk Management

Audience
All Farmers

Length
45 - 90 minutes

Post-Harvest Handling: Tools and Techniques

11/5/2014

Title
Post-Harvest Handling: Profiles, Tool, and Considerations

Overview
As the demand for local and organic food has exploded in the last five years, so has the expectation on the part of consumers and institutional buyers for clean produce that lasts on the shelf and in the refrigerator. Chris Blanchard will take you on a journey through packing houses in the Upper Midwest and beyond, with a look at the washing and packing facilities and tools used by farmers large and small.

Outline
1. Basics
2. Containers
3. Facilities and Product Flows
4. Cooler Considerations
5. Materials Handling
6. Dry Goods Storage
7. Other Considerations
8. The Work You Do in the Field Makes the Packing Shed work
9. Plan for Change
10. Bulk Tanks
11. Baby Salad Greens
12. Broccoli
13. Brush Washer
14. Bulk Roots and Tubers
15. Beans and Peas
16. Tomatoes
17. Some General Considerations
18. Clothing
19. To Market

Series
In The Field

Topics
Production, Post Harvest Handling, Risk Management

Audience
All Farmers

Length
90 - 120 minutes