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The University of Maryland and the University of Delaware have released an online course for agricultural operations in Delaware and Maryland. The Hiring and Retaining Farm Employees – What you Need to Know and Do course is now available through the University of Maryland’s Enterprise Learning Management System – Canvas.
The course will cover developing an employee handbook for your operation, basic legal requirements, incorporating benefits, such as retirement and health insurance, into the operation, and other common problems that agricultural employers face. The Northeast Risk Management Education Center funded this program.
The online course will cover:
Finding and Keeping Farm Employees - An Employer’s Guide and Workbook;
Choosing Health Insurance Options for an Agricultural Operation;
Choosing Retirement Plan Options for an Agricultural Operation; and
Guidelines for Delaware and Maryland Ag Operations - On Writing an Employee Manual.
The course features Nate Bruce, Farm Business Management Specialist, UD Cooperative Extension; Jesse Ketterman, PhD, AFC, Senior Agent, University of Maryland Extension; Maria Pippidis, Extension Educator, Financial Wellness, University of Delaware Cooperative Extension; and Paul Goeringer, Principal Faculty Specialist and Extension Specialist, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Maryland.
“This online course is a great opportunity for farmers and other agricultural business owners to think about how to set up employment strategies early on that benefit the farm. Having an employee manual helps lay out the expectations of the farm. At the same time, we know the workbook and benefits options will assist farms in adding in features that might help retain qualified employees or attract new ones,” said Goeringer.
The online course is free to attend and at a participant’s pace.
Participants will receive copies of Extension fact sheets and other valuable documents as a part of the online course.
For more information or to register, go to https://go.umd.edu/hiringcourse. For more information, please contact Paul Goeringer at lgoering@umd.edu.
This material is based upon work supported by USDA/NIFA under Award Number 2023-70027-40447.
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