
Subject: Curious about climate or wildfire Resilience on your farm? Join our online courses!
Curious about building resilience to climate or wildfire on farm? Farmer Campus is thrilled to announce our newest online courses! Both are self-paced, open enrollment and online. Let us know if you have any questions by writing to contact@farmercampus.com. You can enroll using the links below.
Help get the word out! Our best outreach tool is word of mouth - please share widely with other folks you think might benefit from these resources, designed specifically for farmers and ranchers facing climate uncertainty.
Climate Resilience via Agroecology (New!)
Drawing on decades of training farmers amidst climate change, Farmer Campus in collaboration with agroecology experts, brings you a self-paced online course where you will learn from climate resilient agriculture experts, experienced farmers, and Farmer Campus’s network of agroecology educators. By taking this course you will have:
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Access to
In Topics Staff, HR & Worker Safety, Beginning Farmers & Ranchers, Women in Agriculture, Weather & Climate Change
In General FarmsReach community


Subject: Now Open: Farmers Build Wildfire Resilience - An Online Course for Farmers
Are you farming in a fire-prone area and overwhelmed by the “new normal” of wildfires? Wondering how to adapt?
In Topics Business & Financial Planning, Staff, HR & Worker Safety, Insurance, Livestock, Beginning Farmers & Ranchers, Women in Agriculture, Weather & Climate Change
In General FarmsReach community

Subject: No match SSA letters
Hello
Some of you may have received no match letters from the Social Security Administration. If you don't know what this is, great one less thing to worry about.
If you did get one, what's to do? This PDF is the best advice I've seen yet. Read it carefully. Don't make life harder by doing too much.
https://www.fels.net/1/images/Social-Security-Briefing-l-Final-4.12.2019.pdf
I'm unable to upload the pdf or create a link so you can copy the link above, or read the document below
SOCIAL SECURITY MISMATCH AND IMMIGRATION: WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
Frequently Asked Questions on All Things Social Security
This collaborative briefing was written by Michael C. Saqui of Dowling Aaron Incorporated, Chris Schulte of CJ Lake, LLC, and Rob Roy, President and General Counsel of Ventura County Agricultural Association
In 2018, employers and third-party payroll providers were sent an Educational Correspondence (EDCOR)
In Topics Staff, HR & Worker Safety, Immigration & Farmworker Rights
In General FarmsReach community

Subject: There's still time to register for the FarmLink Business Skills Camp!
In Topics Marketing & Sales, Business & Financial Planning, Funding Opportunities, Staff, HR & Worker Safety, Insurance, Farmland Conservation, Sales & Estate Planning, Beginning Farmers & Ranchers, Women in Agriculture, Urban Agriculture, News & Events, Anything Goes
In General FarmsReach community, Yolo Farmers Guild, California FarmLink, CA Women, Food and Agriculture Network, Nevada County Guild

Subject: Minimum wage & farm viability
The recent posts in our Classifieds about minimum wage reflect the unfortunate truths for both hiring farms and farm workers. For some farms, it can be tough to break even paying just minimum wage, while, for farm workers, minimum wage is hardly a living wage.
There are obviously no easy answers, but it’s clear that farm operators must somehow find ways to maximize production and efficiencies with less human power.
Below are some resources as practical guidance or simply food for thought. Please feel free to share other resources you think folks may be interested in!
- Business & Financial Planning Toolkit
- Managing costs & diversifying offerings: tips from former UC Small Farm Director, Shermain Hardesty, for small and/or new farmers
- NPR, May 2018: “Worker Shortage Hurts California Agriculture Industry”
- LA Times, April 2018: “Raids and tariffs? We’ll take our lumps, say California
In Topics Business & Financial Planning, Staff, HR & Worker Safety, Beginning Farmers & Ranchers
In General FarmsReach community
Lalitha Vish | Jellicles Farm | Sunol , CA commented
Also: in most parts of the world, farm sizes are 3-7 acres and they can’t afford 100k worth of tractors. There is severe drought and/or depleted soils. Climate change is literally changing landscapes and industrializion has dried up aquifers. And a desperate lack of people interested in farming because there is no safety net like in the USA. We can’t deny innovation by imagining that the rest of the world lives like us or grows food like us. Innovating and automating food production and farming for smaller farms will be truly game changing at a global level.
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Subject: Compiled list of Job Opportunities posted recently
There have been a lot of job opportunities posted in FarmsReach lately! Please pass this on to friends who are looking for farm positions or internships! To view all Classifieds, go to http://FarmsReach.com > Community > Classifieds.
Field Crew (Full Time and Part Time), Bluma Farm, Sunol
Assistant Manager (Full Time), Bluma Farm, Sunol
Nursery Assistant, MIX Garden, Healdsburg
Ranch Manager, SoMar Farms, Petaluma
... Read More
In Topics Staff, HR & Worker Safety
In General FarmsReach community

Subject: Farmers in San Benito County, Educators need five minutes of your time.
In San Benito County, we live one step away from Silicon Valley, the world’s hub for technology development, where high-tech workers find new ways to improve our connectivity, boost our economies, and improve our livelihoods.
Being California the state that feeds our nation, the agricultural sector is not left behind, and Silicon Valley’s innovators work hard to equip our agriculture with cutting-edge tools. However, technology by itself is not, and will not be enough to move our California’s agriculture to the next level in terms of productivity and environmental sustainability.
Even though technologies such as drones or automatized harvest machines have proved to increase our agricultural productivity, we know that adopting them is not an easy road. Not only high start-up costs, but also a lack of qualified labor with skills and knowledge on how to use these technologies effectively makes the
... Read More
In Topics Staff, HR & Worker Safety, Certifications, Women in Agriculture, News & Events
In General FarmsReach community, California FarmLink, CA Women, Food and Agriculture Network, California Agritourism
FarmsReach Team | FarmsReach | Berkeley, CA commented
Hi folks! We have you log in to update your settings, as there are several choices: receive certain types of posts, posts to certain groups, daily digest, weekly digest, or none at all. You can always email us at support@farmsreach.com for help, or if you have any questions! RJ, we'll update your settings for you!
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Subject: Revisiting Your Agritourism Strategy for Increased Income
If you offer any kind of agritourism - from U-Pick to to bed-n-breakfast - we think you may be interested in the upcoming Agritourism Conversations hosted by UC Small Farm Program and FarmsReach! It is a series of 5 practical webinars with ongoing Q&A and resource-sharing by presenters and the community online in between. It kicks off on May 19th and continues through July 14th.
If you are an agritourism operator and have a burning question about how to improve or expand your operation, you can also share your questions in the new CA Agritourism group ahead of time, or email: paleff@ucdavis.edu. We will make sure your questions are answered!
SCHEDULE – all webinars will be 11am-12pm PT:
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Thursday May 19 – The Strategy: Identifying, Reaching & Connecting with YOUR Agritourism Customers
Presenters: Kristen Skaggs and Anna Farrell, Farrell Design Group; Al Courchesne (Farmer Al), Frog Hollow Farm.
In Topics Marketing & Sales, Business & Financial Planning, Staff, HR & Worker Safety, Insurance
In General FarmsReach community

Subject: Opinions wanted regarding "fair compensation" for farmers market work in the Bay Area.
In Topics Marketing & Sales, Business & Financial Planning, Staff, HR & Worker Safety, Anything Goes
In General FarmsReach community
Paul Underhill | Terra Firma Farm | Winters, CA commented
Going forward with the recent agreement on the $15 minimum wage it feels to me and the other farmers I talk to that it is going to be extremely challenging to survive in the fresh-produce business. So far this year I haven't seen that any produce prices have gone up in response to the Jan. 1 increase which translated for us into a 10% across-the-board pay raise. We picked our first berries this week and I'm being told that the price is...the same as last year.
I don't to highjack your post, just commiserating.
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Subject: Answer 25 farming questions - and we'll mail you a hat
Dear farmers!
We're a small team on a big mission - to make precision agriculture concepts affordable and accessible to even the smallest of farmers. We need some input to be smarter about what we're building.
Our name is Farm Dog (http://farmdog.ag/) and we'll gladly send a Farm Dog hat to the first 50 people that will answer the 25 questions in this survey form: http://goo.gl/forms/88SywcPrlt
Yours,
Michael Hermon
Co-founder and CTO
Farm Dog
In Topics Soil Fertility Management, Seed & Planting, Trees, Vines & Planting, Pest & Disease Management, Water & Irrigation, Harvesting, Washing, Packing & Packaging, Waste Management, Marketing & Sales, Food Safety, Equipment, Trucks, Delivery & Logistics, Growing Structures: Greenhouses, Hoop Houses, etc., Facilities, Cooling & Energy Systems, Business & Financial Planning, Funding Opportunities, Staff, HR & Worker Safety, Immigration & Farmworker Rights, Insurance, Certifications, Farmland Conservation, Sales & Estate Planning, Wildlife Management, Livestock, Beginning Farmers & Ranchers, Women in Agriculture, Weather & Climate Change, Urban Agriculture, Policy, News & Events, Anything Goes
In General FarmsReach community