Cooperative Extension Publications

S3: Harvesting

Goal of S3: Highly individual based on specific goals and needs of Communication Plan. Activities selected if appropriate.

Group check-in.

Review Homework from S2.

⇒ Activity: Roles and Responsibilities

• What jobs does each person do?
• How does staff know who to go to for what? Where/how is this communicated? (Employee manual, orientation, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs))
• Which jobs are wonderful? Which ones are slogs?
• How to minimize slogs and plan for more wonderful?
• Which do you like to do alone? Together?
• Are there seasonal shifts (ie: from transplanting & planting to harvest)? How do these change/impact daily and seasonal schedules?

⇒ Activity: Identify and/or develop a few SOPs (e.g. hiring, farm stand management, cleanliness, vegetable processing, crew meetings, microgreen production)

⇒ Activity: A ranking tool to assess and evaluate opportunities/choices/changes

⇒ Activity: Plan a Team Building Meeting for/with farm crew

• What are the goals of the meeting?
• Have each crew member do a SWOC and share with group?
• Plan for crew meetings through the busy season.
• Do crew members need role clarification?
• Does a particular area of the farm need a whole crew troubleshooting session?
• Are there policies that need refining, discussion, development?
• Does the crew need help with disagreements, grievances?
• Craft an agenda and materials list based on the findings from the above questions.
• SOP article from North Carolina State Extension

⇒ Activity: Craft a Communication Plan. (This may be saved for S4 or done at S3 with an amount of time for implementation prior to S4)

A Communication Plan might serve the farm team in:

• Prioritizing tasks
• Making financial decisions
• Managing staff
• Planning off-farm work
• Planning for childcare
• Brainstorm the following parts of a Communication Plan:
• What (meetings for prioritizing, meetings with financial focus, staff/management meetings, personal needs like fitness, reading, family time, etc.)
• Where (on-farm, over dinner out, etc.)
• Who (Managers? Family? Crew?)
• When (Daily, weekly, monthly, annually)
• How (Email reminders? Farm calendar as a communication tool?)

Homework:

• Any from S1 and/or S2 that are applicable
• Write up a division of labor SOP for staff so everyone knows:
• Their job description, expectations and “chain of command”
• Which manager/farmer is responsible for which tasks
• How to communicate about that subject (email, text, in person, etc.)
• Contact specific support people/organizations (Small Business Development Center, Insurance company, lawyer, etc.)

Closing: Self-evaluation

• Coaches model answering the question “How did I do?” Expressing appreciation and correcting any gaffs, oversights, unintentional harms, etc., that may have occurred. Farmers are invited to do the same.

Closing: Plan next meeting time and place

Send out S3 Notes 5-7 days after S3 meeting
Send out S4 Agenda 5-7 days before S4 meeting

Example of a weekly plan of contact, meetings, farm needs, work schedules: