Onboarding Dairy Employees 2020: Safe, Productive and Engaged from Day One

Onboarding Dairy Employees 2020: Safe, Productive and Engaged from Day One
The first days and weeks on the job set the course for a new farm employee. Cornell Agricultural Workforce Development is seeking dairy farmers to participate in the second year of an onboarding project funded by the New York Farm Viability Institute.
Farms in the Onboarding Project work closely with an adviser to customize a professional and legally-compliant new employee onboarding process, and to improve farm human resource management practices. Well planned onboarding leads to a successful long-term manager-employee relationship with higher employee retention, safety, productivity, and job satisfaction.
Use Employee Onboarding to achieve:
- COMPLIANCE. Basic compliance with regulations and policies.
- CLARITY. Training on safety, work procedures, and expectations.
- CULTURE. Communicate your farm's procedures, values, traditions and norms.
- CONNECTION. Help employees forge relationships at work and find their place to engage and thrive.
Over the next year, the Ag Workforce Development Team will partner with 25 farms in a three-session Zoom series to develop onboarding materials, trainings and methods.
- Onboarding Program Flyer
- Onboarding Program News Release
- Guide for Conducting Employee Onboarding. Cornell Agricultural Workforce Development. Make a good impression and connect employees with the team to retain valued employees.
If your farm is looking for a way to improve employee retention and increase overall productivity of employees, contact your local Cornell Cooperative Extension Educator or Richard Stup, Cornell Agricultural Workforce Development, at res396@cornell.edu.
Upcoming Events
WNY Pastureland Conversion & Soil Health Field Day
July 16, 2025
Middleport, NY
Join American Farmland Trust for the Western New York Soil Health Field Day on July 16, 2025, at Zeliff Farm in Middleport, NY, from 9:00 AM-3:15 PM. Learn about pasture conversion, soil health benchmarking, biochar in grazing systems, and best grazing practices. Plus, enjoy hands-on demos with the NY Soil Health Trailer, drones, and cover crops! Check out the attached agenda for more information about the field day and REGISTER HERE. Zeliff Farms is a regenerative beef operation who has recently partnered with AFT on outreach and education to farmers including learning circles and evaluating biochar effects on soil health.
IPM Strategies to Protect Corn and Soybean Seed in NY

July 30, 2025
Hamburg , NY
SWNYDLFC and Cornell IPM are hosting a grower meeting to discuss integrated pest management strategies for protecting corn and soybean seed in New York.
FAMACHA Training for Sheep and Goat producers in Woodhull NY
August 13, 2025 : FAMACHA Training in Woodhull
Woodhull, NY
Join us for a discussion and hands-on training for internal parasite integrated pest management in sheep and goats. Certification is available to all students participating in the workshop.
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