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

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Vital Communities Program News

A New Quest in Pomfret, Vermont

Earlier this summer I had the fortune of working with the amazing staff of the Artistree Community Arts Center in Pomfret, Vermont on offering a Questing Camp. Over the week the campers learned about the ...more

Chime In: 9/18 Hartford Hearing on Affordable Housing in Vermont

Concerned about the need for more affordable housing in both Windsor County and Vermont? Join a discussion with local business leaders, affordable housing advocates, and community members on the challenges facing Vermont and the possible local ...more

Welcome Norwich Solar Technologies!

We are proud to welcome Norwich Solar Technologies as a Local First Promoter Sponsor!  The White River Junction-based renewable energy company provides end-to-end solar solutions to businesses in Vermont, New Hampshire, and throughout New England. ...more

Have an Idea That Could Use a Lift?

Local Businesses, Farmers,Entrepreneurs, Nonprofits, Community Initiatives: Do you have an incredible project just waiting to happen? Want to grow your organization, our community, and the local economy, but don’t have access to capital? The Local Crowd (TLC) Upper Valley is ...more

Fat Hat Clothing-Keeping it Local for 40 years

Forty years ago Joan Ecker started Fat Hat Clothing Company with free fabric remnants and a treadle sewing machine. Today F.H. Clothing Company is a nationally known family business that designs, produces and sells stylish, ...more

Quest Spotlight: Trees of Hanover Quest

With this amazing stretch of sunny days we've been having, I wanted to get outside and do more Questing! This week, I went out to do the Trees of Hanover Quest. This Quest takes you ...more

Quest Spotlight: Quest for the Kestrel

This month, I wanted to spotlight a Quest on the Super Quest list! If you haven't signed up for the Super Quest yet, there is still time! Register your team, and then find a Quest off ...more

Housing: Regional Challenge—Local Solutions

Housing: Regional Challenge—Local Solutions We live, work, shop, and play across state and town lines, so it makes sense to work together to meet our shared housing challenge. Here is what some towns are doing, and how ...more

Celebrate Our Independents!

July is a time to celebrate not only our independence as a nation but the entrepreneurial spirit and freedom that is embodied by our local and independent businesses. Independents Week is an annual opportunity to ...more

Stand in Your Circle of Strength and Lead

Ed. Note: On May 30, Vital Communities honored 12 community leaders who’ve added immeasurably to the vitality of the Upper Valley at its annual Heroes & Leaders Celebration. The following are the event’s keynote remarks ...more

Heroes & Leaders: Creating a Vital Upper Valley

Every spring, Leadership Upper Valley, a program of Vital Communities, hosts the annual Heroes & Leaders Celebration to recognize individuals who make significant contributions to the Upper Valley. In 2019, we are pleased to honor ...more

2nd Annual Curb The Car Day - Friday, May 17!

On May 17, 2019 the rest of the country is celebrating National Bike to Work Day, but here in the Upper Valley we’ll be taking it a step further with our second annual Curb The ...more

12th Annual Roundtable - May 7

You're Invited! The 12th Annual Upper Valley Energy Committee Roundtable is Tuesday, May 7, 5-8 pm in West Lebanon! This annual gathering of local energy volunteers is open to all, whether you serve on an energy committee, wish to ...more

Dazzlingly Reflective, 80's Style

We love pairing style with nighttime visibility, so we've ordered REFLECTIVE SLAP BRACELETS to reward people who bike or walk to Flavors of the Valley on Sunday, April 7! If you bike and walk to the ...more

Get your bike, boots, or shoes ready!

Get your bike, boots, or shoes ready! From our friends at Local Motion comes the Winter Edition of Vermont's Bike-Walk Challenge, February 1 to 8! Simply record two bike or walk commutes in the Go! Vermont app ...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

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

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

Photo Gallery

Staff

Becka Warren

Food & Farm Coordinator

Food & Farm

 802-291-9100 x112

Food & Farm

— Becka Warren, Food & Farm Coordinator

Part of Vital Communities' 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

Food & Farm Manager

Valley Quest, Food & Farm

 802-291-9100 x105

Valley Quest, Food & Farm

— Beth Roy, Food & Farm Manager

Beth leads Vital Communities' Food & Farm team, including its Upper Valley Farm to School programming, and also oversees Valley Quest. 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.



Nancy LaRowe

Food & Farm and Local First Coordinator

Local First, Food & Farm

 802-291-9100 x106

Local First, Food & Farm

— Nancy LaRowe, Food & Farm and Local First Coordinator

Nancy joined Vital Communities as the 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. 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

September 2019

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1
2
3
4
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

Vital Communities Program News

A New Quest in Pomfret, Vermont

Earlier this summer I had the fortune of working with the amazing staff of the Artistree Community Arts Center in Pomfret, Vermont on offering a Questing Camp. Over the week the campers learned about the ...more

Chime In: 9/18 Hartford Hearing on Affordable Housing in Vermont

Concerned about the need for more affordable housing in both Windsor County and Vermont? Join a discussion with local business leaders, affordable housing advocates, and community members on the challenges facing Vermont and the possible local ...more

Welcome Norwich Solar Technologies!

We are proud to welcome Norwich Solar Technologies as a Local First Promoter Sponsor!  The White River Junction-based renewable energy company provides end-to-end solar solutions to businesses in Vermont, New Hampshire, and throughout New England. ...more

Have an Idea That Could Use a Lift?

Local Businesses, Farmers,Entrepreneurs, Nonprofits, Community Initiatives: Do you have an incredible project just waiting to happen? Want to grow your organization, our community, and the local economy, but don’t have access to capital? The Local Crowd (TLC) Upper Valley is ...more

Fat Hat Clothing-Keeping it Local for 40 years

Forty years ago Joan Ecker started Fat Hat Clothing Company with free fabric remnants and a treadle sewing machine. Today F.H. Clothing Company is a nationally known family business that designs, produces and sells stylish, ...more

Quest Spotlight: Trees of Hanover Quest

With this amazing stretch of sunny days we've been having, I wanted to get outside and do more Questing! This week, I went out to do the Trees of Hanover Quest. This Quest takes you ...more

Quest Spotlight: Quest for the Kestrel

This month, I wanted to spotlight a Quest on the Super Quest list! If you haven't signed up for the Super Quest yet, there is still time! Register your team, and then find a Quest off ...more

Housing: Regional Challenge—Local Solutions

Housing: Regional Challenge—Local Solutions We live, work, shop, and play across state and town lines, so it makes sense to work together to meet our shared housing challenge. Here is what some towns are doing, and how ...more

Celebrate Our Independents!

July is a time to celebrate not only our independence as a nation but the entrepreneurial spirit and freedom that is embodied by our local and independent businesses. Independents Week is an annual opportunity to ...more

Stand in Your Circle of Strength and Lead

Ed. Note: On May 30, Vital Communities honored 12 community leaders who’ve added immeasurably to the vitality of the Upper Valley at its annual Heroes & Leaders Celebration. The following are the event’s keynote remarks ...more

Heroes & Leaders: Creating a Vital Upper Valley

Every spring, Leadership Upper Valley, a program of Vital Communities, hosts the annual Heroes & Leaders Celebration to recognize individuals who make significant contributions to the Upper Valley. In 2019, we are pleased to honor ...more

2nd Annual Curb The Car Day - Friday, May 17!

On May 17, 2019 the rest of the country is celebrating National Bike to Work Day, but here in the Upper Valley we’ll be taking it a step further with our second annual Curb The ...more

12th Annual Roundtable - May 7

You're Invited! The 12th Annual Upper Valley Energy Committee Roundtable is Tuesday, May 7, 5-8 pm in West Lebanon! This annual gathering of local energy volunteers is open to all, whether you serve on an energy committee, wish to ...more

Dazzlingly Reflective, 80's Style

We love pairing style with nighttime visibility, so we've ordered REFLECTIVE SLAP BRACELETS to reward people who bike or walk to Flavors of the Valley on Sunday, April 7! If you bike and walk to the ...more

Get your bike, boots, or shoes ready!

Get your bike, boots, or shoes ready! From our friends at Local Motion comes the Winter Edition of Vermont's Bike-Walk Challenge, February 1 to 8! Simply record two bike or walk commutes in the Go! Vermont app ...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

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

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

Photo Gallery

Staff

Becka Warren

Food & Farm Coordinator

Food & Farm

 802-291-9100 x112

Food & Farm

— Becka Warren, Food & Farm Coordinator

Part of Vital Communities' 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

Food & Farm Manager

Valley Quest, Food & Farm

 802-291-9100 x105

Valley Quest, Food & Farm

— Beth Roy, Food & Farm Manager

Beth leads Vital Communities' Food & Farm team, including its Upper Valley Farm to School programming, and also oversees Valley Quest. 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.



Nancy LaRowe

Food & Farm and Local First Coordinator

Local First, Food & Farm

 802-291-9100 x106

Local First, Food & Farm

— Nancy LaRowe, Food & Farm and Local First Coordinator

Nancy joined Vital Communities as the 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. 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.