Resources

  • Know Your Rights with ICE and Border Patrol

    Screen shot of a portion of the resource.
    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.

  • Your Role as an Employee Manager

    Screenshot of the Assessing Personnel Management Skills checklist
    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)

  • Demystifying the H2A Program (article & podcast)

    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.

  • Red Cards / Tarjetas Rojas

    I have rights
    This is a small card people can carry in wallet or pocket to assert their constitutional rights if ICE comes to their home. Available in 56 languages. Free from the Immigrant Legal Resource Center.

  • Creating a Personnel Policy Manual

    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.

  • Insider Tips on Managing Farm Staff with Kate Donald

    Kate Donald has been farming for 20+ years, having worked on farms in California and Massachusetts before returning to here home state of New Hampshire. She and her husband Jeff co-own Stout Oak Farm, a Certified Organic vegetable farm in Brentwood, NH, where she works with a team of twelve employees to grow vegetables, microgreens, seedlings, and cut flowers. Kate also co-owns the local food hub Three River Farmers Alliance.

  • Recruiting Employees: The importance of a good for employment application form

    A standard application form that collects the same information from all job applicants and clearly displays your farm name and contact information is an important part of presenting your operation in a professional manner. This template provides a good basis for your employment application form and allows you to customize with your farm name and logo.

  • Recursos de seguridad agrícola en español de UMASH

    Image of three Spanish language guides on farm safety/Imagen de tres guías en español sobre seguridad en las granjas
    La base de datos de recursos del Centro de Salud y Seguridad Agrícola del Alto Medio Oeste contiene una variedad de materiales de salud y seguridad, incluidas varias guías en español. Puede buscar materiales por palabra clave, categoría y etiquetas/temas e idioma.

    (A list of farm safety resources in Spanish from UMASH)

  • Reference Checks (Farm Manager Video Series)

    This video from the Farm Manager Video Series shares tips for how to use reference checks to learn more about a prospective job applicant. You'll learn about the kinds of information that can be gained through a reference check, its limitations, and how to incorporate it in your overall assessment of and decision-making about an applicant.

  • Reviewing Applications

    Once applications begin rolling in you will need a system for selecting those applicants that you’d like to interview. Your job descriptions should lead you to a list of qualifications which will help…

  • Running the Numbers

    This three-part video series demonstrates how to use partial budgeting as a decision tool for tractor and equipment investments. The videos provide examples of how farmers can use the partial budget…

  • Safer Farms Initiative

    Developed by the National Farm Medicine Center, The Safer Farms initiative developed a series of hazard analysis tools and forms to help you identify and address risks. The tools and forms are free,…

  • Sample Employee Handbooks

    Employee handbooks are important tools for communicating expectations to your employees and developing a positive workplace culture. Here we provide examples so you can see what other farms/organizations have included in their manuals, as well as a link to our Personnel Policy Generator tool.

  • Substance Misuse Toolkit

    Employer Guide to Substance Misuse cover
    This toolkit is designed to support employers in promoting healthy, safe workplaces by destigmatizing conversations about substance misuse, offering guidance in how to address it, and developing practices that focus on prevention.
    It was created by a workgroup made up of Vermont employers and community organizations focused on substance misuse prevention and recovery.

  • Supporting an Inclusive Workplace Culture

    Group photo of farm coworkers posing in front of an antique tractor
    A recorded video presentation by Rock Steady Farm and the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project on workplace culture, farm policies, care focused approach, and how to build an inclusive workplace on your farm, especially for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ workers. (recorded January 2022)

  • Tax Basics: Form 1099 Information

    Form 1099 is used to report various forms of income other than wages, salaries, and tips to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and to the recipient of the payment. Agricultural producers may both receive Form 1099 information returns and be required to issue them. The Rural Tax Education website provides an overview of the kinds of information 1099 forms report.

  • Tax Reporting: Employment of Family Members

    This webinar provides guidance on a number of topics related to employing family members on farm operations, including employment of children by their parents, spouses working for each other, business structures involving family members, reporting/withholding requirements, and deductibility of wages paid to family members. PowerPoint slides are also provided.

  • Tracking Labor on a Diversified Vegetable Farm

    The biggest expense on just about any diversified produce farm is labor. It is also the hardest to track. This video presentation by John Hendrickson of University of Wisconsin's Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems provides practical approaches to the labor component of the cost of production records for various crops. Links to additional resources are included.

  • Training Employees Who Operate Agricultural Tractors

    This 2020 Iowa State University publication outlines nine practices agricultural employers should cover during training with employees who operate tractors. These practices help prevent tractor overturns and the resulting injuries and fatalities.