Resources to Help Farmers with Labor Issues

luna-bleu-young-farmers-2012-003-4WEB Christy, Crossroad farm, greenhouse season extension, 2009

Learn from Other Farmers!

See what other Upper Valley farmers have tried to solve the challenge of finding and keeping labor. We’ve asked and surveyed dozens of farmers and here is what they said:

What Works!

Things We Tried that Didn’t Work…

Farmer Labor Best Practices and Benchmarks Survey Results

What Farm Workers are Looking for Survey

UV Farm Job Directory- 2018 Update

In 2017 we partnered with DailyUV to create the UV Farmer Job Directory. Due to changes at the DailyUV site, the directory will not be live in 2018.

Looking for a place to advertise for farm labor?

Vital Communities just launched a farm labor focused job directory as part of a Northeast SARE Partnership grant that is designed to help farms hire and retain farm staff.

The UV Farm Job Directory is FREE and EASY to use.
 
1 Easy Step:
  1. Create a help wanted advertisement in the market section of dailyuv.com
2017 Farm Job Directory Instructions for Farmers:We are using dailyuv.com‘s website to host this new virtual job directory. There is a news page on the site that has helpful information on what to expect from a farm job, the benefits of working on a farm, and the positions available. It will also include basic information about the farms looking for labor.
Farmers create a free help wanted ad on the daily.uv site for the position(s) you are hiring for (go to dailyuv.com/market and click on “SELL”, you will be asked to set up an account (join now), then create your ad). Once your ad is created, I will add a link from the main job directory page to your specific farm ad, so that someone can click to your ad if they want to learn the details about the position(s) open at your farm.
We are running catchy, paid advertisements throughout the dailyuv site and in the Valley News that points prospective workers to the main job directory page to create traffic to the page, and sharing this with all of the potential sources of local labor like the vo-techs, VTC, Sterling College, state DOE offices, Facebook, etc.
List Your Farm Job Here

Farmers – Lets Talk Labor!

Finding and retaining quality farm labor is a challenge many of you face. Lack of skilled labor is affecting production, sales, and profits for Upper Valley farms.

With Northeast SARE funding, Vital Communities is partnering with farmers to find solutions.

We need farmers to share their labor practices by answering 20 questions.

The information we collect from this survey will be compiled and shared with farmers. From these benchmarks, you will learn how other farms are successfully finding labor, compare pay rates and benefits, and other best practices. Scroll down for our growing suggestions for where to post job listings and useful labor management resources.

View the 2017 survey results here!

 

Luna Bleu Young Farmers 2012 003 (112)

The Labor Side

We also need to hear from farm staff! Share where you look for jobs, why you chose a particular farm, and what is important to you.

Farm workers – please take a few minutes to share your experiences.

We are also working to increase the connection between potential labor sources (ag high school programs, VTC, CRAFT programs, 4H, Sterling, etc.) and farmers with an online farm-focused job directory to be tested  during the 2017 season. Stay tuned for details.

Learn what farm workers are looking for!
View the 2017 Farm Staff Survey Results

Questions?
Nancy@VitalCommunities.org
802.291.9100 x106

Thank you to Northeast SARE for funding this work

sare-northeast cropped

How we can help: Farmer Resources

Advising for Rising Farmers

Farmer
Resources

Upper Valley
CRAFT

How we can help: Farmer Resources

Upper Valley CRAFT

Farm staff visit 10 farms around the Valley.

Learn More  >

Farmer Advising

Advising with a particular focus on newer and future farmers.

Learn More  >

Explore resources

Farmer resources from VT, NH and more.

Learn More  >

Search Our Valley Food & Farm Guide

How we can help: Marketing

Flavors of the Valley

Meet 800 customers at our annual Local Foods Expo in April.

Learn More  >

Valley Food & Farm Guide

List your food business in the Valley Food & Farm Guide- for free.

Learn More  >

Workplace Markets

Deliver your products to Upper Valley businesses.

Learn More  >

Farm to School Network

Connect with your local school with the Upper Valley Farm to School Network.

Learn More >

New Farmer Advising

Learn More
Valley Food & Farm staff are able to help with your specific situation or question. We work with farmers who are in the dreaming/planning stage, just starting out, and/or growing their farm business.

Valley Food & Farm News

Visit Our Food & Farm Blog

Calendar

December 2018

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1
2
3
4
  • Workshop: Increasing Efficiency Using Lean Techniques
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
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31

Vital Communities Program News

Local First Members Give Back!

Locally owned businesses are rooted in the Upper Valley and donate time and money to the community every month of the year as they support nonprofits, schools, and communities. Keep your dollars where your heart and support ...more

Think Local First and Save!

Local and independent businesses bring value to our communities in many ways: preserving community character, creating stable jobs, supporting area organizations and nonprofits, and strengthening our local economy by keeping our dollars in the Upper ...more

Think Local First & SAVE this Season!

Local and independent businesses bring value to our communities in many ways: preserving community character, creating stable jobs, supporting area organizations and nonprofits, and strengthening our local economy by keeping our dollars in the Upper ...more

Party Time! Annual Open House & a Concert!

Join us at The Engine Room to celebrate 25 years of Vital Communities making a positive difference in the Upper Valley! Get to know our staff, board, and other supporters while you enjoy wine and ...more

Seeking Bids from Solar Installers by Nov. 30

Vital Communities is teaming up with Kearsarge Climate Action to launch a Solarize Kearsarge campaign in spring 2019, following on the tails of the upcoming Weatherize Kearsarge campaign launching in January 2019. We are seeking proposals ...more

Crossroad Farm is the BOM!

Crossroad Farm is the Local First Alliance November Business of the Month and to celebrate they are raffling off all the fixing for a Thanksgiving feast – a Misty Knoll turkey and basket of local ...more

Crossroad Farm is the BOM!

Crossroad Farm is the November Business of the Month and to celebrate they are raffling off all the fixing for a Thanksgiving feast - a Misty Knoll turkey and basket of local veggies! Visit the their ...more

Thank you, Ben!

This summer we had the privilege of working with Ben Fletcher, pictured second from left. Ben brought an incredibly well suited array of skills to Vital Communities and was a boon to the Valley Quest ...more

Donuts & Hogwarts: A Transit Travel Training Case Study

One thing a group of Millennial cartoonists doesn’t need is help using a smartphone app – especially an intuitive one that shows the real-time location of buses in the rural transit system, Advance Transit. No, ...more

Lebanon Area Businesses - Join us on Sept. 27

So many small businesses in the Upper Valley are burdened with high energy costs. And not enough time to do anything about it! We've got some good news for you. A group of Lebanon residents are ...more

Bird and Quest

The Vermont Center for Ecostudies lists 382 species of bird that occur in Vermont, whether year-long resident or migratory visitor. The VCE’s Vermont Atlas of Life citizen science operation has recorded sightings of 332 of ...more

Subbasin Spotlight!

This year's Aquatic Adventure Super Quest showcases the 5 subbasins that make up the Upper Connecticut River Valley, or, more fondly, the Upper Valley. A subbasin is a term used to describe a watershed within a ...more

A Lot Lighter with More Hands: Leadership Upper Valley

On the bright, sunny morning of June 13, Cobb Hill was waking up, and the soon-to-be graduating 2018 Leadership Upper Valley class was just arriving for their final meeting. Before the ceremony at Harpoon Brewery, ...more

Buses are FREE Thursday for Dump the Pump Day!

Join people around the Upper Valley and nationwide and take the bus Thursday, June 21 for the 13th annual Dump the Pump Day. Stagecoach and Connecticut River Transit ("The Current") will be FARE-FREE. And Advance Transit ...more

Y'all Curbed the Car!

On Friday, May 18, the Upper Valley celebrated its newest holiday: Curb the Car Day. Riffing off National Bike to Work Day, Curb the Car Day embraces all forms of non-drive-alone commutes: biking, walking, taking transit, ...more

Longevity & Commitment: Keynote Remarks from Heroes & Leaders 2018

Editor's Note: Many thanks to Kevin Peterson, Director of Economic Development for the New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority, who offered the keynote speech at our May 3 Heroes & Leaders celebration. Read his complete remarks ...more

Long-Standing Stewards: Heroes & Leaders 2018

Every spring, Leadership Upper Valley, a program of Vital Communities, hosts a Heroes & Leaders celebration to recognize individuals who make significant contributions to the greater Upper Valley region. This year, Heroes & Leaders is ...more

Get Stoked on Automated Wood Heat!

Boiler on its last legs? Looking to opt out of fossil fuels? Come learn about today's self-stoking automated wood heat! Opt out of oil with delivery of local wood pellets and whole home wood heating ...more

Photo Gallery

Staff

Becka Warren

Valley Food & Farm Communications Coordinator

Food & Farm

 802.291.9100 x 112

Food & Farm

— Becka Warren, Valley Food & Farm Communications Coordinator

Part of Vital Communities' Valley Food & Farm team since 2012, Becka fosters relationships that keep agriculture a daily part of community life in the Upper Valley. She works with current and future farmers, businesses, schools, and partners across Vermont and New Hampshire to build connections that support farm viability and keep our landscapes working. Becka lived in Seattle for many years, where she worked for the Washington State University Small Farms Program, Cascade Harvest Coalition, Seattle Tilth, and area vegetable farms. Becka is also a writer, founding and writing Ask Umbra at gristmagazine.com until 2009. She holds a BA from Brown University and lives in Hartland, Vermont, with her family.



Beth Roy

Valley Food & Farm Manager

Food & Farm

 802.291.9100 x 105

Food & Farm

— Beth Roy, Valley Food & Farm Manager

Before joining Vital Communities, Beth Roy worked in the environmental and place-based education fields for 17 years in various positions around New England including at the Vermont Institute of Natural Science and as the Director of Education at the Nature Museum in Grafton, Vt. Beth is also on the boards of the Vermont Science Teacher Association (VSTA) and the Vermont State-Wide Environmental Education Programs (SWEEP), a coalition of dozens of individuals and organizations promoting sustainability and environmental education in Vermont. Beth is a New Hampshire native and lives in Hartland, Vt., with her husband and two children. When Beth is not working you will find her exploring the woods around her home with her family or cooking up a new taste test (made of local foods, of course!) for her children.



Lauren Griswold

Valley Quest and Volunteer Coordinator, Valley Food & Farm Program Assistant

Valley Quest, Food & Farm

 802.291.9100 x 107

Valley Quest, Food & Farm

— Lauren Griswold, Valley Quest and Volunteer Coordinator, Valley Food & Farm Program Assistant

Lauren Griswold joined Vital Communities in May 2017 to coordinate Power of Produce (POP) clubs at Upper Valley farmers' markets and farmstands. In August 2017 she became our Valley Quest and Volunteer Coordinator, in addition to her role as the Valley Food & Farm Program Assistant. Lauren grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and graduated from the University of Vermont in 2011 with a Bachelor's degree in English and Environmental Studies. Her passion for sustainable agriculture took her out West, where she served as a garden educator in Bend, Oregon. After an enriching chapter in the high desert, Lauren is thrilled to be back in central Vermont. She is passionate about the rich communities and natural beauty of the Upper Valley, and enjoys engaging the next generation with wonder and enthusiasm about this special place. In her free time, Lauren can be found mountain biking, cross country skiing, gardening, knitting, and savoring meals with friends and family.



Nancy LaRowe

Local First Manager and Valley Food & Farm Coordinator

Food & Farm

 802.291.9100 x 106

Food & Farm

— Nancy LaRowe, Local First Manager and Valley Food & Farm Coordinator

Nancy joined Vital Communities as the Valley Food & Farm Coordinator in 2014. She works to support and grow our local food system and economy. Nancy has lived, worked, and farmed in the Upper Valley for more than 25 years and believes our community is healthier and stronger when our connections to food and the farms that produce it stay vital.

Nancy's informal job title is Farmer-in-Residence: she also runs a pasture-based cattle farm in Norwich, Vt. Nancy is on the Board of the Norwich Farmers' Market, and a retired Norwich volunteer firefighter and EMT. She loves puttering in the garden, hiking with her dog, and visiting farmers' markets.



How we can help: Farmer Resources

Advising for Rising Farmers

Farmer
Resources

Upper Valley
CRAFT

How we can help: Farmer Resources

Upper Valley CRAFT

Farm staff visit 10 farms around the Valley.

Learn More  >

Farmer Advising

Advising with a particular focus on newer and future farmers.

Learn More  >

Explore resources

Farmer resources from VT, NH and more.

Learn More  >

Search Our Valley Food & Farm Guide

How we can help: Marketing

Flavors of the Valley

Meet 800 customers at our annual Local Foods Expo in April.

Learn More  >

Valley Food & Farm Guide

List your food business in the Valley Food & Farm Guide- for free.

Learn More  >

Workplace Markets

Deliver your products to Upper Valley businesses.

Learn More  >

Farm to School Network

Connect with your local school with the Upper Valley Farm to School Network.

Learn More >

New Farmer Advising

Learn More
Valley Food & Farm staff are able to help with your specific situation or question. We work with farmers who are in the dreaming/planning stage, just starting out, and/or growing their farm business.

Valley Food & Farm News

Visit Our Food & Farm Blog

Calendar

December 2018

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1
2
3
4
  • Workshop: Increasing Efficiency Using Lean Techniques
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31

Vital Communities Program News

Local First Members Give Back!

Locally owned businesses are rooted in the Upper Valley and donate time and money to the community every month of the year as they support nonprofits, schools, and communities. Keep your dollars where your heart and support ...more

Think Local First and Save!

Local and independent businesses bring value to our communities in many ways: preserving community character, creating stable jobs, supporting area organizations and nonprofits, and strengthening our local economy by keeping our dollars in the Upper ...more

Think Local First & SAVE this Season!

Local and independent businesses bring value to our communities in many ways: preserving community character, creating stable jobs, supporting area organizations and nonprofits, and strengthening our local economy by keeping our dollars in the Upper ...more

Party Time! Annual Open House & a Concert!

Join us at The Engine Room to celebrate 25 years of Vital Communities making a positive difference in the Upper Valley! Get to know our staff, board, and other supporters while you enjoy wine and ...more

Seeking Bids from Solar Installers by Nov. 30

Vital Communities is teaming up with Kearsarge Climate Action to launch a Solarize Kearsarge campaign in spring 2019, following on the tails of the upcoming Weatherize Kearsarge campaign launching in January 2019. We are seeking proposals ...more

Crossroad Farm is the BOM!

Crossroad Farm is the Local First Alliance November Business of the Month and to celebrate they are raffling off all the fixing for a Thanksgiving feast – a Misty Knoll turkey and basket of local ...more

Crossroad Farm is the BOM!

Crossroad Farm is the November Business of the Month and to celebrate they are raffling off all the fixing for a Thanksgiving feast - a Misty Knoll turkey and basket of local veggies! Visit the their ...more

Thank you, Ben!

This summer we had the privilege of working with Ben Fletcher, pictured second from left. Ben brought an incredibly well suited array of skills to Vital Communities and was a boon to the Valley Quest ...more

Donuts & Hogwarts: A Transit Travel Training Case Study

One thing a group of Millennial cartoonists doesn’t need is help using a smartphone app – especially an intuitive one that shows the real-time location of buses in the rural transit system, Advance Transit. No, ...more

Lebanon Area Businesses - Join us on Sept. 27

So many small businesses in the Upper Valley are burdened with high energy costs. And not enough time to do anything about it! We've got some good news for you. A group of Lebanon residents are ...more

Bird and Quest

The Vermont Center for Ecostudies lists 382 species of bird that occur in Vermont, whether year-long resident or migratory visitor. The VCE’s Vermont Atlas of Life citizen science operation has recorded sightings of 332 of ...more

Subbasin Spotlight!

This year's Aquatic Adventure Super Quest showcases the 5 subbasins that make up the Upper Connecticut River Valley, or, more fondly, the Upper Valley. A subbasin is a term used to describe a watershed within a ...more

A Lot Lighter with More Hands: Leadership Upper Valley

On the bright, sunny morning of June 13, Cobb Hill was waking up, and the soon-to-be graduating 2018 Leadership Upper Valley class was just arriving for their final meeting. Before the ceremony at Harpoon Brewery, ...more

Buses are FREE Thursday for Dump the Pump Day!

Join people around the Upper Valley and nationwide and take the bus Thursday, June 21 for the 13th annual Dump the Pump Day. Stagecoach and Connecticut River Transit ("The Current") will be FARE-FREE. And Advance Transit ...more

Y'all Curbed the Car!

On Friday, May 18, the Upper Valley celebrated its newest holiday: Curb the Car Day. Riffing off National Bike to Work Day, Curb the Car Day embraces all forms of non-drive-alone commutes: biking, walking, taking transit, ...more

Longevity & Commitment: Keynote Remarks from Heroes & Leaders 2018

Editor's Note: Many thanks to Kevin Peterson, Director of Economic Development for the New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority, who offered the keynote speech at our May 3 Heroes & Leaders celebration. Read his complete remarks ...more

Long-Standing Stewards: Heroes & Leaders 2018

Every spring, Leadership Upper Valley, a program of Vital Communities, hosts a Heroes & Leaders celebration to recognize individuals who make significant contributions to the greater Upper Valley region. This year, Heroes & Leaders is ...more

Get Stoked on Automated Wood Heat!

Boiler on its last legs? Looking to opt out of fossil fuels? Come learn about today's self-stoking automated wood heat! Opt out of oil with delivery of local wood pellets and whole home wood heating ...more

Photo Gallery

Staff

Becka Warren

Valley Food & Farm Communications Coordinator

Food & Farm

 802.291.9100 x 112

Food & Farm

— Becka Warren, Valley Food & Farm Communications Coordinator

Part of Vital Communities' Valley Food & Farm team since 2012, Becka fosters relationships that keep agriculture a daily part of community life in the Upper Valley. She works with current and future farmers, businesses, schools, and partners across Vermont and New Hampshire to build connections that support farm viability and keep our landscapes working. Becka lived in Seattle for many years, where she worked for the Washington State University Small Farms Program, Cascade Harvest Coalition, Seattle Tilth, and area vegetable farms. Becka is also a writer, founding and writing Ask Umbra at gristmagazine.com until 2009. She holds a BA from Brown University and lives in Hartland, Vermont, with her family.



Beth Roy

Valley Food & Farm Manager

Food & Farm

 802.291.9100 x 105

Food & Farm

— Beth Roy, Valley Food & Farm Manager

Before joining Vital Communities, Beth Roy worked in the environmental and place-based education fields for 17 years in various positions around New England including at the Vermont Institute of Natural Science and as the Director of Education at the Nature Museum in Grafton, Vt. Beth is also on the boards of the Vermont Science Teacher Association (VSTA) and the Vermont State-Wide Environmental Education Programs (SWEEP), a coalition of dozens of individuals and organizations promoting sustainability and environmental education in Vermont. Beth is a New Hampshire native and lives in Hartland, Vt., with her husband and two children. When Beth is not working you will find her exploring the woods around her home with her family or cooking up a new taste test (made of local foods, of course!) for her children.



Lauren Griswold

Valley Quest and Volunteer Coordinator, Valley Food & Farm Program Assistant

Valley Quest, Food & Farm

 802.291.9100 x 107

Valley Quest, Food & Farm

— Lauren Griswold, Valley Quest and Volunteer Coordinator, Valley Food & Farm Program Assistant

Lauren Griswold joined Vital Communities in May 2017 to coordinate Power of Produce (POP) clubs at Upper Valley farmers' markets and farmstands. In August 2017 she became our Valley Quest and Volunteer Coordinator, in addition to her role as the Valley Food & Farm Program Assistant. Lauren grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and graduated from the University of Vermont in 2011 with a Bachelor's degree in English and Environmental Studies. Her passion for sustainable agriculture took her out West, where she served as a garden educator in Bend, Oregon. After an enriching chapter in the high desert, Lauren is thrilled to be back in central Vermont. She is passionate about the rich communities and natural beauty of the Upper Valley, and enjoys engaging the next generation with wonder and enthusiasm about this special place. In her free time, Lauren can be found mountain biking, cross country skiing, gardening, knitting, and savoring meals with friends and family.



Nancy LaRowe

Local First Manager and Valley Food & Farm Coordinator

Food & Farm

 802.291.9100 x 106

Food & Farm

— Nancy LaRowe, Local First Manager and Valley Food & Farm Coordinator

Nancy joined Vital Communities as the Valley Food & Farm Coordinator in 2014. She works to support and grow our local food system and economy. Nancy has lived, worked, and farmed in the Upper Valley for more than 25 years and believes our community is healthier and stronger when our connections to food and the farms that produce it stay vital.

Nancy's informal job title is Farmer-in-Residence: she also runs a pasture-based cattle farm in Norwich, Vt. Nancy is on the Board of the Norwich Farmers' Market, and a retired Norwich volunteer firefighter and EMT. She loves puttering in the garden, hiking with her dog, and visiting farmers' markets.