Session 2 Workshops
Monday, May 22, 3:00-4:30pm
Monday, May 22, 3:00-4:30pm
Farm Labor Law
Room: 2C
There are many long-held and persistent misconceptions about the application of the federal Farm Labor Standards Act to agricultural businesses. This session will be an opportunity to hear directly from the US Department of Labor, as well as Alyson Eastman, Deputy Secretary of the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, who has 15 years of experience consulting with farm businesses on these issues.
Alyson Eastman, Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets, VT
Shequeila Birdson, Travis Hall and Kristyna Lamphere, Wage & Hour Division, US Department of Labor
Values-Aligned Food Businesses Supporting Farm Viability
Room: 1B
Come learn, engage with, and ask questions to a panel of values-aligned food businesses that are supporting farm viability. These businesses are building relationships and purchasing directly from farmers; providing technical assistance; sponsoring events and conferences; giving back through employee volunteerism and/or charitable contributions; and more. Let's discuss how farm viability programs can have deeper collaborations with these businesses to support farmers and ranchers.
Anthony Chang, Kitchen Table Advisors, CA
Beth Forster, Blue Apron, NY
Chris Mittelstaedt, The Fruit Guys, CA
Thomas Nelson, Capay Valley Farm Shop, CA
Rapid Feasibility Assessments: New Portal For Food Systems Planners
Room: 3A
Have a local food business idea for your community, and aren’t sure if it has potential? New Venture Advisors has developed a set of online widgets to help you get immediate answers! In this workshop, participants will learn how to conduct rapid pre-assessments of three types of regional food businesses they might be considering—produce food hubs, frozen (IQF) processing facilities and rural grocery store food hubs.
Kathy Nyquist, New Venture Advisors, IL
Saloni Doshi, New Venture Advisors, CO
Effective Approaches to Supporting and Serving Immigrant Farmers
Room: CR
Effective approaches to supporting and overcoming barriers and challenges in serving immigrant farmers. Sharing experiences, lesson learned, challenges and questions around supporting immigrant farmers that face additional barriers around language, cultural norms, and institutional and systemic racism.
David Mancera, Kitchen Table Advisors, CA
Patricia Carrillo, Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association, CA
Farm Financial Statements, Standards and Analysis: Part 1
Room: 2B
This workshop will cover introductory concepts in farm financial statement preparation and the use of financial statements to assess business performance and planning goals. Topics will include: balance sheet preparation, valuation of assets, cash flow statements, cost analysis and budgeting. This session is intended to provide training to professionals working directing with business owners on business and financial planning.
Mark Cannella, University of Vermont Extension, VT
Finding the Right Mix of Markets through Market Channel Assessment
Room: 2A
Direct farm marketers struggle to find an optimal mix of marketing channels to realize profitability. Presenters will share findings from a recent study of marketing costs of local vegetable operations and engage us in discussion and application of marketing mix analysis for food producers.
Ryan Pesch, University of Minnesota Extension, MN
Matt LeRoux, Cornell Cooperative Extension, NY
Keeping Farmland Available for Farmers: Integrating Business Planning and Farmland Conservation with Farmland Access and Transfer Projects
Room: 1A
Business planning for farmland access and transfer projects is often lacking, from both young and beginning farmers as well as farmers nearing or at retirement age. Yet business planning can be key to identifying and securing the right farm for a fledging business and for creating the road map to a successful farm transfer process. This workshop will explore the integration of business planning and farmland conservation with farmland access and transfer projects. Service providers from New York and Vermont will discuss the mechanics of their regional and statewide programs for farmers and farmland owners and participate in a facilitated panel. The latter portion of the workshop will include a group discussion and a Q and A session.
Tim Biello, American Farmland Trust, NY
Liz Higgins, Cornell, NY
Jon Ramsay, Vermont Land Trust, VT
Sam Smith, Intervale Center, VT
Jerry Cosgrove, NY
Room: 2C
There are many long-held and persistent misconceptions about the application of the federal Farm Labor Standards Act to agricultural businesses. This session will be an opportunity to hear directly from the US Department of Labor, as well as Alyson Eastman, Deputy Secretary of the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, who has 15 years of experience consulting with farm businesses on these issues.
Alyson Eastman, Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets, VT
Shequeila Birdson, Travis Hall and Kristyna Lamphere, Wage & Hour Division, US Department of Labor
Values-Aligned Food Businesses Supporting Farm Viability
Room: 1B
Come learn, engage with, and ask questions to a panel of values-aligned food businesses that are supporting farm viability. These businesses are building relationships and purchasing directly from farmers; providing technical assistance; sponsoring events and conferences; giving back through employee volunteerism and/or charitable contributions; and more. Let's discuss how farm viability programs can have deeper collaborations with these businesses to support farmers and ranchers.
Anthony Chang, Kitchen Table Advisors, CA
Beth Forster, Blue Apron, NY
Chris Mittelstaedt, The Fruit Guys, CA
Thomas Nelson, Capay Valley Farm Shop, CA
Rapid Feasibility Assessments: New Portal For Food Systems Planners
Room: 3A
Have a local food business idea for your community, and aren’t sure if it has potential? New Venture Advisors has developed a set of online widgets to help you get immediate answers! In this workshop, participants will learn how to conduct rapid pre-assessments of three types of regional food businesses they might be considering—produce food hubs, frozen (IQF) processing facilities and rural grocery store food hubs.
Kathy Nyquist, New Venture Advisors, IL
Saloni Doshi, New Venture Advisors, CO
Effective Approaches to Supporting and Serving Immigrant Farmers
Room: CR
Effective approaches to supporting and overcoming barriers and challenges in serving immigrant farmers. Sharing experiences, lesson learned, challenges and questions around supporting immigrant farmers that face additional barriers around language, cultural norms, and institutional and systemic racism.
David Mancera, Kitchen Table Advisors, CA
Patricia Carrillo, Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association, CA
Farm Financial Statements, Standards and Analysis: Part 1
Room: 2B
This workshop will cover introductory concepts in farm financial statement preparation and the use of financial statements to assess business performance and planning goals. Topics will include: balance sheet preparation, valuation of assets, cash flow statements, cost analysis and budgeting. This session is intended to provide training to professionals working directing with business owners on business and financial planning.
Mark Cannella, University of Vermont Extension, VT
Finding the Right Mix of Markets through Market Channel Assessment
Room: 2A
Direct farm marketers struggle to find an optimal mix of marketing channels to realize profitability. Presenters will share findings from a recent study of marketing costs of local vegetable operations and engage us in discussion and application of marketing mix analysis for food producers.
Ryan Pesch, University of Minnesota Extension, MN
Matt LeRoux, Cornell Cooperative Extension, NY
Keeping Farmland Available for Farmers: Integrating Business Planning and Farmland Conservation with Farmland Access and Transfer Projects
Room: 1A
Business planning for farmland access and transfer projects is often lacking, from both young and beginning farmers as well as farmers nearing or at retirement age. Yet business planning can be key to identifying and securing the right farm for a fledging business and for creating the road map to a successful farm transfer process. This workshop will explore the integration of business planning and farmland conservation with farmland access and transfer projects. Service providers from New York and Vermont will discuss the mechanics of their regional and statewide programs for farmers and farmland owners and participate in a facilitated panel. The latter portion of the workshop will include a group discussion and a Q and A session.
Tim Biello, American Farmland Trust, NY
Liz Higgins, Cornell, NY
Jon Ramsay, Vermont Land Trust, VT
Sam Smith, Intervale Center, VT
Jerry Cosgrove, NY