Progress report for ONE17-290

Our approach combines our detailed work plan/method and activities for each program objective.

Objective 1: Assess Existing Resources: Review existing farm labor guides and apprenticeship training curricula and identify gaps in information on experiential education and training, and in mentoring resources. Through web searches, resource clearinghouses, apprenticeship listings, and referrals to known apprenticeship programs (including the 40 organizations from the recent Quivira Coalition survey), solicit and compile existing curricula and resource materials (applications, self-assessments, learning plan templates, program frameworks, etc.) and sort by topics and organizational support materials. Review materials and identify gaps in available farm labor resources for New England.  Using 2015 Quivira survey and data, review apprenticeship survey results and identify gaps in professional development /trainings available to address needs around apprenticeship program design and understanding of farm labor laws.

Objective 2: Research Formal Apprenticeship Requirements: Many agricultural apprenticeship training programs are not structured to meet industry-specific and Department of Labor requirements for formal apprenticeship; a framework is needed for industry engagement and accreditation of sector-specific training programs at the federal or state levels. We will review available resource materials and guidebooks on lawful apprenticeship training program requirements. We will identify federal and state-specific variations for further research and engage in conversations with the six New England states’ and the federal Department of Labor contacts for agricultural apprenticeship.  We will compile a resource fact sheet aggregating the available guides, webinars, and information available on apprenticeship/farm labor laws per state and create a framework for a comprehensive Toolkit. We will also determine if it is possible to develop a regional approach to formal apprenticeship by understanding DOL interpretation of industry “sponsor” requirements for Apprenticeship in the trades.

Objective 3: Develop a Comprehensive “New England Apprenticeship” Toolkit to facilitate training-of-trainer programs for farm and ranch mentors. The guide will contain plain-language information and decision trees to support farm employers to design and deliver a quality, legally-compliant Apprenticeship or Internship program. The guide will contain additional resource materials including stand-alone fact sheets and examples of apprenticeship curricula, programming, case studies, and administrative structures to make the comprehensive Toolkit more accessible to a broader audience. The Toolkit will include specific content for New England States (and include references to New York). The Toolkit will be posted online and disseminated broadly through partner and service provider listservs and websites and through farm-specific networks and commodity associations.

Objective 4: Strengthen Farm and Ranch Mentor Skills through Regional “Train-of-Trainer” (TOT) and Technical Assistance (TA) Capacity Building Programs: In addition to conducting outreach and promoting the Toolkit on quality Apprenticeship training programs to a broad audience, we will develop programming to provide three, focused 1-day regional “training of trainer” workshops for farm mentors. We will conduct the day-long workshops throughout New England and eastern NY (one each in Maine (hosted by Cultivating Community/MOFGA), Massachusetts (hosted by New Entry in collaboration with NOFA Mass), and one in Eastern NY (hosted by Hawthorne Valley Place Based Learning Center) to attract a wide net of farm mentors and organizations sponsoring apprenticeship connection programs. We will also provide a resource and referral technical assistance program to organizations and farm mentors as a follow up to the trainings. We will target the TA to those farm mentors and organizations interested in sponsoring quality on-farm learning experiences and being part of a more structured learning network.

Objective 5: Support a Community of Practice and regional learning network for apprentice training programs in New England and the Northeast through peer-to-peer sharing and networking. As part of the regional training workshops, we will strengthen the network of apprenticeship training program and farm mentors that are able to connect and facilitate informal and more formal information exchange through a regional listserv (CRAFT listservs), connections at regional conferences (such as NOFA Mass Summer Conferences, NESAWG, and through the Northeast Beginning Farmer Learning Network meetings hosted annually by Cornell University.

Objective 6: Tracking and Evaluate Outcomes: We will document and assess the effectiveness of project outputs and develop a framework to evaluate apprenticeship outcomes via a pre- and post-survey of agricultural employers to engage on-farm work-learning opportunities. Our goal will be to capture at least 100-150 completed surveys prior to the launch of a scheduled training of trainer session and we will complete post-training evaluations immediately after completion of the training. We will also follow up with a second post-training evaluation survey between 3 and 4 months after completion of the training to determine what changes have been implemented and any positive or unexpected outcomes that resulted after attending the training.

Activities in 2017

Foundational steps in the development of educational products have been accomplished, and one day long workshop has been completed. 

New Entry staff has reviewed existing farm labor guides and apprenticeship training curricula and identified gaps in information on experiential education and training, and in mentoring resources. We have worked with multiple partners including the Quivira Coalition, MOFGA, Conservation Law Foundation, Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship, Vilicus Training Institute, Rogue Farm Corps and DOL to compile existing curricula and resource materials. These materials have been sorted and annotated. Through communication with federal DOL representatives, we have obtained resources related to federal labor laws pertaining to agriculture, and are being connected to state representatives who will assist in identifying state specific variations.

We have begun to compile a resource fact sheet and a framework for a comprehensive Toolkit, including a thorough review of federal agricultural labor laws and specifications in Massachusetts. The possibility of developing detailed state level components to the toolkit is being explored, however it may prove more difficult than originally thought due to the complexity of the laws, variation between states, and lack of trained professionals specializing in these areas. We hope that continued communication with state-level DOL officials will help us to better understand what support is available in charting and developing resources.

On December 5, 2017 forty mentor farmers and beginning farmer program staff gathered in Boston for a full-day pre-conference session prior to the Community Food Systems Conference. This group included 7 mentor farmers and 12 program staff from the Northeast. The day long workshop included sessions ranging from Legal Structures for on-Farm/Ranch Labor to Establishing Expectations and Effective Communications with Apprentices.

In December 2017 a workshop on ‘Employment Law 101’ was presented by our partner at Conn Kavanaugh at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. It provided an overview of key employment issues that farmers need to know. From apprenticeship to agricultural minimum wage, the workshop will cover key topics that come up on the farm and provide attendees with an agricultural employment law handbook. It included case studies that provided an opportunity to apply the topics to real situations.

Activities in 2018

We have worked to build on the success of the project from 2017 by coordinating four workshops, hosting two webinars, and finalizing our labor law handbook.

In January 2018, at NOFA Mass winter conference, Andrew Dennigton of Conn Kavanaugh presented ‘So you think your apprenticeship is legal?’. This workshop was an interactive legal 101 for mentor farmers who offer hands-on learning opportunities on their farms. Drawing on an Agricultural Employment Law booklet developed by New Entry and Conservation Law Foundation, the session will cover federal and state laws that apply to farmers as employers. We had four people attend the workshop in person, however, the workshop was recorded and is available online.

On February 13, 2018 a workshop on agriculture labor laws was presented at CISA (Community Involved for Sustaining Agriculture) winter workshop series at Holyoke Community College. Presenters included Sara Dewey, CLF Legal Food Hub; Stevie Schafenacker, CISA Local Hero Program; John Gannon, Skoler Abbott & Presser; and Patty Colarossi, DOL Wage and Hour Education and Outreach. The workshop focused on scope of employment law, handling lawsuits, and wage and hour compliance. We had 10 people in attendance for this workshop.

A workshop titled ‘Working on the Farm: Employment Law 101’ took place in Dighton, MA as part of SEMAP (Southeast Massachusetts Agricultural Partnership) annual conference. The workshop was hosted by New Entry Sustainable Farming Project and the Legal Food Hub, and provided an overview of important employment issues that farmers need to know. From apprenticeships to minimum wage and overtime, an attorney who is an employment law expert covered key topics that come up on the farm. Attendees received an agricultural employment law handbook. The speaker was Brian Killoy an attorney, employment law expert, and experienced litigator at Conn Kavanaugh Law Firm in Boston. We had 10 attendees at this workshop.

In Maine, we coordinated a workshop on agricultural labor laws with MOFGA and Cultivating Community which took place on March 22, 2018. Speakers included Elaine Bourne of Maine Agricultural Mediation Program and Tom Tremholm of Drummond Woodsum law firm. This was a round-table discussion with 20 attendees and lots of time for questions and answers from the speakers. 

We pursued two other options to host workshops, but the opportunities did not work out. We put a proposal to do talk at NOFA-NY in 2018 about labor laws but our proposal was not selected. We also were planning on doing a workshop with Hawthorne Valley and Glynwood in New York but Cornell Extension has already been doing a good bit of work in this subject area and it would be redundant to do something in this area. 

We have hosted two webinars on ag labor topics, one on March 14, 2018 titled ‘Ag Employment Law and Your Farm’ with Beth O’Neal from Conn Kavanaugh. We had 22 people attend the webinar and have received 81 views since the webinar has been recorded and available on our website. On May 31, 2018 we hosted ‘Employment Law for the Farm: Q&A Webinar’ with Beth O’Neal from Conn Kavanaugh as presenter. We had 40 attendees and 29 views since the webinar has been available on our website.

In October 2018, 55 people from around the country met for the AgALN Annual Gathering in Albuquerque, New Mexico as a pre-conference to the Quivira Coalition Regenerate Conference. We toured two farms in the Albuquerque area and coordinated 8 workshops on topics relating to ag apprentice mentors and their programming. Overall, 10 attendees were from the Northeast and 4 of those Northeastern attendees gave talks. We promoted our Ag Apprentice Toolkit at the gathering, which includes information about the legal requirements of apprentices, interns, and farm staff. Since the Toolkit has been available on our website this year, it has received 521 unique pageviews. 

We completed our handbook on ‘Agricultural Labor Law and Your Farm-Northeast Guide to Labor Law Compliance for Agricultural Apprenticeships’ and will need to format it and begin distributing it via listservs and make it available on our website.

For 2019, we are working to coordinate another in-person training with Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, and MOFGA for early 2019. The focus of this training will be focused on supporting farm mentors, but we will also promote our labor law guide.