This two-pager provides guidance on what to do should ICE or Border Patrol come to your farm or stops your vehicle. Note: While the information in this resource has been reviewed by immigration attorneys, it should not be considered legal advice. For legal advice pertaining to your needs please consult with an attorney.
The United States H-2A "guestworker" visa program allows farmers to hire workers from other countries to fill temporary/seasonal positions when local workers aren't available.
Growing For Market has covered the H-2A program in both a 2021 online article and a 2023 podcast episode, offering first-hand perspectives and useful information to consider when deciding if the H-2A program could be a good fit for your operation.
Use this Assessing Personnel Management Skills checklist to consider the various aspects of being a successful human resources manager and identify areas to work on developing knowledge and skills.
(Developed by Iowa State University Extension & Outreach)
A personnel policy manual insures that all employees are aware of the policies and expectations of your business. A manual enhances your professionalism, creates consistency in communications, and protects you from appearing arbitrary in your treatment of employees. Drafting this manual will provide you and your management team the opportunity to think through your policies in advance and create a pleasant, productive work environment.
This toolkit explains different childcare options available in case of an absent parent, where to find trusted immigration services in your community, and how to prepare to assert your constitutional rights in the presence of an immigration officer. It is available in Spanish and English.
This 3-minute video shares a quick activity that can help build more productive and stronger farm work teams. The exercise can help improve how employees work together, their level of compassion for each other, and how you can be a better supervisor.
This journal article identifies and analyzes social, economic and cognitive pathways through which childcare impacts farm decisions, operations, labor, and success. The authors draw on interviews and focus group data with farmers in the Northeast US to describe how farmer-parents access and negotiate child care, and suggest that childcare arrangements are an under recognized challenge through which farm household dynamics directly influence agricultural production.
Reporting on two sets of interviews with 90 farmers and 19 farm workers in six states, this 2021 online seminar session shared highlights from stories about hiring and working on small and mid-sized farms in six states (NC, NH, OH, PA, VT, and WI).
This March 2021 series presented highlights from recent research and extension projects focusing on labor management and decision-making on small and mid-sized produce and livestock farms. Links to recordings, slide decks and related information and resources from each of the three one-hour sessions are provided.
This educational guide covers a broad range of legal topics relevant to agricultural producers in New Hampshire. Updated in 2025, it includes topics such as labor/employment law, business structures, and food regulations.
If you are new to the legal aspects being a farm employer, you will want to gain an understanding the following topics at a minimum: workers compensation, minimum wage, paperwork needed at the start…
UVM Extension's Agricultural Engineer Chris Callahan shares simple approaches to ergonomics - the practice of designing and arranging the things we use so that we interact with them efficiently and safely -- that can make a big difference to everyone.
When Southern Idaho producers expressed concerns with the turnover of Hispanic agriculture employees, University of Idaho Extension researchers deployed a survey to gauge the importance of different work factors and their impact on longevity of employment.
This article by Kimberly Williams-Brackett provides further analysis of the the research presented in Money Doesn’t Always Matter, Low Cost Ways to Increase the Longevity of Southern Idaho’s Hispanic Agricultural Employees while considering surveys and findings from the past 10 years.
The National Safe Tractor and Machinery Operation Program provides curriculum that covers core content areas for tractor and machine operation safety, including safety basics, agricultural hazards, tractors, connecting and using implements with tractors and materials handling.
NYCAMH has a web page dedicated to providing health and safety resources for farmers. Materials, which have nationwide relevance, are available in both Spanish and English versions.
Having a system in place to orient new hires ensures each employee hears important information your operation and completes all the necessary forms. This checklist saves you from problems down the road when an important form is missing or some important policy does not get communicated.
This Growing for Market podcast explores efficient systems and organization for packing sheds and more with some of the industry's top problem-solvers.
El Programa de Seguridad Agrícola de la Universidad Estatal de Pensilvania ha producido más de 30 artículos y videos sobre temas de seguridad y salud en las granjas en español. Los temas abarcan desde opciones de seguro médico para trabajadores agrícolas hasta seguridad de tractores y equipos.
(A list of farm safety resources in Spanish from Penn State)
Pennsylvania State University's Farm Safety Program has produced 30+ articles and videos on farm safety and health topics in Spanish. Topics range from navigating health insurance options for farm workers to tractor and equipment safety.
Back Injury Prevention Quick Tips This poster from the National Education Center for Agricultural Safety provides a series of tips to avoid back injuries.
Two training videos you can reference to prevent sexual harassment on your farm, and to respond to it if need be:
Farm Manager Video Series: Preventing Sexual Harassment (UNH, UVM)
Safety in the Field: Addressing Workplace Sexual Harassment for Farm Workers (AgriSafe)
This checklist from the University of Maine Cooperative Extension can help you identify and share information about farm chores and their importance to farm operations.
Training Guides covering Pre-Harvest, Harvest, and Post-Harvest food safety topics were developed by the North Central Region FSMA Center (Available in PDF and PowerPoint)
Beginning June 28, 2024, a new set of federal labor rules will go into effect with the goal of strengthening farm worker protections and ensuring that use of the H2A program does not adversely affect…
El H5N1 es un virus de la gripe aviar que puede causarle enfermedades. Use el equipo de protección personal (EPP) recomendado al trabajar con animales enfermos y materiales que puedan estar infectados. Lea este recurso para obtener más información sobre cómo protegerse y proteger a su equipo.
(Recommended personal protective equipment (PPE) and other information on protecting yourself and your team from the H5N1 avian flu virus)
