Hiring and Retaining Farm Employees – What you Need to Know and Do

The University of Maryland and the University of Delaware will host the Hiring and Retaining Farm Employees – What you Need to Know and Do workshop on January 23rd in Boonsboro, MD, and January 30th in Georgetown, DE. Both workshops will be from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm. The Jan. 23rd program will be at the University of Maryland Extension Washington County office, 7303 Sharpsburg Pike, Boonsboro, MD 21713. The Jan. 30th program will be at the University of Delaware Carvel Research & Education Center, 16483 County Seat Hwy, Georgetown, DE 19947.

These free programs will cover developing an employee handbook for your operation, basic legal requirements, and how to incorporate benefits that agricultural employers deal with. The funding for this program, including the complimentary lunch, is thanks to the Northeast Risk Management Education Center.

The speakers include Nate Bruce, Farm Business Management Specialist, and Maria Pippidis, Finance Agent, with the University of Delaware Cooperative Extension, and Paul Goeringer, an Extension Specialist in agricultural law, and Dr. Jesse Ketterman, a Senior Agent, with the University of Maryland Extension. Bruce will address tax issues associated with benefits. Goeringer will address the employee handbook and common legal issues. Pippidis and Dr. Ketterman will discuss incorporating benefits.

“This program will be a great opportunity for agricultural employers to get valuable information on their legal responsibilities and options,” said Paul Goeringer. “This information will be useful for any employer, regardless of the size of the operation,” said Goeringer.

Lunch is provided with the workshop. Check-in will start at 9 am, and the workshops will run from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm.

Participants will receive take-home copies of Extension fact sheets and other valuable documents from the workshop series.

For more information or to register for the Boonesboro event on Jan. 23, go to https://agrisk.umd.edu/events - and do not hesitate to reach out Paul Goeringer at lgoering@umd.edu if you have any questions.

For more information or to register for the Georgetown event on Jan. 26, please call Karen Adams at 302-831-3328.

This material is based upon work supported by USDA/NIFA under Award Number 2021‐70027‐34693.