classes

Registration Open for Employee Development and Training Course

woman in tan long sleeve shirt planting tender green plants in greenhouse

Submitted by Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Cornell Agricultural Workforce Development has opened registration for a new online course in the Supervisory Leadership Certificate Program. Offered for the first time, “Employee Development and Training” course materials release and registration closes on March 3, 2023. Live weekly Zoom sessions will be held 3 to 4 PM EDT each Thursday from March 9 through April 13. Continuing education credits are offered. Course cost is $275 and spaces are limited.

 

Find information and registration for the Agricultural Supervisory Leadership certificate courses here.

“I hope participants will gain practical tools that they can put in their supervisory skills toolbox. They can pull these tools out and use them to build a great workplace and solve problems. Ultimately, we want farm managers to be just as confident about their ability to lead people as they are about their ability to manage farm production,” said Dr. Richard Stup, Agricultural Workforce Development Specialist.

 

Employee Development and Training is the course you’ve been waiting for! Identify training needs. Understand learning styles. Design and plan learning experiences that accommodate learner needs. Develop effective training skills and techniques. Evaluate learning results and training effectiveness.

 

“We’re always looking for ways to improve labor management and leadership skills and we encourage our employees to take courses too,” said Bob DiCarlo, FaBa Farms, who took the Managing Performance course, and his employee took Organizing Work for High Quality Results. “We’re focused on continuous improvement. One of the big pluses has been getting to have time to learn from people not in the same agriculture industry and to talk through real-life situations. The breakout Zoom sessions were worthwhile. It was helpful for me to talk through situations and for our employee too. It's easy to say I’m busy but pick the course that would be of most interest. When you push your comfort zone, it returns the most. We’re continuing to see the importance of stepping away from daily tasks on the farm to see the bigger picture.”

 

The Agricultural Supervisory Leadership Program includes a series of courses that help farm supervisors and managers learn and apply human resource management practices and leadership skills that foster rewarding workplaces and drive business results. Confident managers who thoughtfully apply leadership and management skills improve employee performance, develop teams, reduce employee turnover, and increase employee engagement. The six courses within the certificate series offer extensive practice and engagement activities to build confidence and skill sets.

 

Who should attend?

This course, and the whole certificate program, is appropriate for both new and experienced farm supervisors and managers, and those preparing to become supervisors. All participants learn leadership concepts and practice skills that improve their ability to build a positive workplace and get results through leading others.

 

How to attend?

The course is taught online, but you can still actively engage with other learners. Watch prerecorded presentations on your own schedule, and engage with classmates and instructors during weekly, live discussion sessions. Participation in the live sessions is highly encouraged and provides a valued opportunity for peer-to-peer learning and networking. Continuing education credits are offered.

 

Course instructors include:

  • Richard Stup, Cornell Agricultural Workforce Development Specialist

  • Elizabeth Higgins, Ag Business Management/Production Economics Extension Specialist with the Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture team

  • Libby Eiholzer, Bilingual Dairy Specialist, Cargill

  • Bob Milligan, Cornell University Professor Emeritus

  • Kaitlyn Lutz, Bilingual Dairy Management Specialist

  • Jay Canzonier, Cornell Agricultural Workforce Development Extension Support Specialist

 

Direct questions to Rachel McCarthy, Agricultural Supervisory Leadership Coordinator, at rachel.mccarthy@cornell.edu.

 

Courses in the Supervisory Leadership certificate program can be taken in any order and include:

  • Transitioning to Supervisor: Develop essential communication skills and manage conflict. Lead a multi-cultural team. Build an effective workplace culture.

  • Organizing Work for High Quality Results: Create an efficient and high-performing workplace. Develop clear expectations and standard operating procedures. Delegate effectively. Diagnose and correct performance problems.

  • Managing Performance: Understand motivation. Harness the power of performance feedback and coaching. Build clear and effective workplace communications. Set safety expectations. Conduct effective performance improvements.

  • Ethics and Employment Regulations for Supervisors: Implement responsible and ethical labor practices and understand why this matters for agriculture. Recognize and prevent sexual harassment. Understand and follow minimum wage and overtime laws. Implement Equal Employment Opportunity laws to prevent discrimination and harassment. Use an employee handbook. Handle employee discipline and termination.

  • Employee Development and Training: Identify training needs. Understand learning styles. Design and plan learning experiences that accommodate learner needs. Develop effective training skills and techniques. Evaluate learning results and training effectiveness.

  • Staffing and Organizing Your Team: Develop job descriptions. Learn how to find potential employees, interview and select the right people. Implement new hire documentation, employment authorization, and onboarding: bringing new employees into the business successfully and productively.

 

Free Mental Health First Aid Trainings for Ag Communities of New York State

Two people clasping hands

Did you know that farmers are more likely than the general population to die by suicide?

 

NY FarmNet is collaborating with county Cornell Cooperative Extension offices this fall to offer free, full day, in person Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) courses. Farmers, agribusiness workers, and anyone who interacts with the agricultural community in New York is encouraged to attend. Trainings run from 8am to 5pm, and lunch will be provided from a local eatery with a one hour break.

Mental Health First Aid teaches you how to identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental health and substance use challenges among adults. You’ll build skills and confidence you need to reach out and provide initial support to those who are struggling. You’ll also learn how to help connect them to appropriate support.

 

After the course, you will be able to:

• Recognize common signs and symptoms of mental health and substance use challenges.

• Understand how to interact with a person in crisis and connect them with help.

• Use self-care tools and techniques.

 

The instructors for these courses are part of a recently trained cohort that work within the NY agricultural community. They include representatives from NY FarmNet, Cornell Cooperative Extension, Farm Bureau, Young Farmers Coalition, NY Center for Ag Medicine and Health (NYCAMH), and Black Farmers United NYS. 

 

Scheduled full day MHFA trainings for this fall include:

Tuesday, October 18 in Hudson/Columbia County

Wednesday, October 19 in Cortland/Cortland County

Friday, October 21 in Ithaca/Cornell University/Tompkins County

Tuesday, October 25 in Middletown/Orange County

Wednesday, November 2 in Binghamton/Broome County

Monday, November 7 in Lockport/Niagara County

Tuesday, November 8 in Fonda/Montgomery County

 

To register, go to www.nyfarmnet.org/trainings. If we don’t yet have a training scheduled in your area, check back soon, or contact NY FarmNet at 1-800-547-3276 or nyfarmnet@cornell.edu.

 

These free trainings are made possible by funding from the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food & Agriculture. They have invested nearly $25 million in addressing farmer behavioral health on a state by state basis as part of the Farm and Stress Assistance Network (FRSAN) through state Departments of Agriculture.

 

This work is supported by 7 U.S.C. 5936, Section 7522 of FCEA of 2008, Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network (FRSAN), Grant No. 2021-70035-35550, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Join Us for a FREE Berry Production Workshop on August 29!

New-York-Berry-Growers-Association-Berry-Production-Workshop-2017

August 29, 2017
5:00–7:00 p.m.
The Berry Patch
15589 NY-22, Stephentown, NY

If you’re unsure whether your berry crops have been affected by SWD, or even if you just want to learn more about growing happy, healthy berries, join us for this exclusive workshop, sponsored by Cornell University and Cornell Cooperative Extension. Bring your own fruit, and test for SWD right here!


Then hear experts from Cornell University and Cornell CCE, New York State IPM, the NYS Berry Growers Association, and more on:

SWD Overview
Exclusion Netting

  • Blueberry growing under netting
  • Attract-and-kill baited spheres
  • High-tunnel raspberries grown in excluded tunne
  • Fall raspberries under netting

Weather Station Networks

  • What is NEWA?
  • How farmers can get their own RainWise weather station
  • How applications that are part of weather data can assist farmers
  • MesoNet, and how it works with NEWA

Climate Change and Protected Culture

  • CICSS as a resource, and helpful tools for berry growers
  • Soil health project, including how growers can get involved

Low-Tunnel Strawberry Production

  • Overview of day-neutral production system
  • Use of low tunnels on a diversified, direct-market farm

Wrap-Up and Q&A


This workshop is FREE to all berry growers, regardless of region or level of experience, so spread the word to your colleagues!

Register here.