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Extension Labor Management Programming: Evaluative Outcomes and Impacts

C. Rob Holcomb, Charles Schwartau, Gary Hachfeld, David Bau, Antonio Alba Meraz, and Don Nitchie

Summary

Many farmers view their work from the perspective of an agricultural producer, not as a personnel manager. Many farmers admit they are not well-trained in managing their hired workforce yet have become increasingly reliant on that workforce. To assist farm operators in becoming more skilled as personnel managers, University of Minnesota Extension developed three workshops titled: “Employment Skills for Today: Planning for Success”, “Labor Management: Tax & Regulatory Issues in Minnesota” and “The Why’s and How’s of Developing Employee Handbooks”. These programs focus on educational information related to a series of employment topics most often cited as critical by agricultural employers. Topics include such things as labor laws (federal and state), worker compensation and wage laws, compensation plans (development and implementation), and cultural issues for other than English speaking employees. The program was developed based upon evaluation data from three regional site beta tests in 2011. A total of 178 participants attended workshops held between February 2011 and March 2014. Those participants reported significant knowledge increases in four of the eight educational points which represents program outcomes. Program impacts from a follow-up evaluation of participants shows those attending did act upon their new knowledge and implement some of the information presented in the workshops.

Details

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