ITHACA, N.Y. — Attention produce farmers! Do you wonder about prices for your crops, hiring workers, or managing risks?
Please sign up for our new project, “How Do You Know Your Pricing is Right and Your Investment is Protected?”
You guessed it, another survey! The weather is cold and sitting at the kitchen table with a hot beverage you should be able to get the survey finished by the time you reach the bottom of the cup. Organic, sustainable, socially disadvantaged and beginning farmers are welcome. You can fill out the survey here.
The Cornell Cooperative Extension Program, the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York, and the Agricultural Justice Project are collaborating on an effort to help farmers succeed through improved financial management and better understanding of crop insurance options.
Your participation and advice will make this project stronger! Please consider joining our farmer advisory board. The tasks will include review of returned farmer surveys, providing feedback on our training sessions, and assisting with the overall evaluation of the program’s usefulness to farmers.
This project will help farmers gain knowledge about overhead costs, equipment depreciation, using crop budgets, the complexity of specialty crop insurance, how to apply for and use crop insurance, how to hire workers and provide a workplace that is legal, fair and safe. The end result will be improved profitability and worker retention. You will feel more secure about farm costs and know how to use crop insurance. Your pricing will be more accurate and you will know more about building a team of experienced workers who will stay with you to realize your farm visions.
The program will include five online or in-person trainings, with multiple individualized consultations, online resources, and ongoing technical assistance.
For more information or to receive a paper version of the survey, contact: Robert Hadad, Regional Vegetable Specialist with Cornell Cooperative Extension, at Rgh26@cornell.edu.
–Cornell Cooperative Extension