Start 2025 Strong: Elevate Your Team’s Skills with Online Leadership and Language Training!

Andrew Holden, LERGP Business Management Educator
Lake Erie Regional Grape Program

Last Modified: January 8, 2025

Start the new year by sharpening your leadership skills with Ag Supervisory Leadership (ASL) 104: Staffing and Organizing Your Team.

This essential online course, starting January 17, 2025, is perfect for farm managers, supervisors, and HR professionals eager to build a stronger, more effective team.

Course topics:

• Becoming a preferred employer

• Personnel planning

• Job descriptions

• Avoiding bias and discrimination

• Recruiting and interviewing

• The selection process

• Hiring and onboarding

Key Details:

• Start Date: January 17, 2025

• Live Sessions: Thursdays at 3 PM ET (January 23 – February 27, 2025)

• Cost: $275 (NY residents) | $325 (Out-of-state)

• Scholarship: $100 for eligible dairy producers

For more information or to register, visit our ASL page.

Pre-register by January 22, 2025.

---

Another opportunity for skill development is our Agricultural English Mentorship (AEM) Program:

The AEM program helps Spanish-speaking farm employees improve their English through professional instruction, mentorship, and practical farm scenarios. This opportunity will only be available for a limited time.

Key Features:

• Mentorship: Each farm assigns an English-speaking mentor for weekly 15-minute sessions, focusing on farm-specific vocabulary.

• English Instruction: Participants learn at their own pace with pre-recorded videos and live Zoom sessions covering pronunciation, grammar, and farm-related terms.

• Course Topics: Includes lessons on the alphabet, greetings, farm culture, employee handbooks, and more.

Course Details:

• Start Date: January 17, 2025

• Live Sessions: Fridays, January 24–February 28, 2025

• Platform: Moodle app (accessible on phones and computers)

• Commitment: 2 hours per week, including mentor meetings

Why Participate?

Improve communication, increase productivity, and support career growth for farm employees.

For more info or to register, visit AEM Program page or contact Mary Lewis at ml2656@cornell.edu.

Registration closes 1/23.

Free PSU Webinar 1/10/25: Can You Afford Employees at Your Farm Business?

Andrew Holden, LERGP Business Management Educator
Lake Erie Regional Grape Program

Last Modified: January 8, 2025

Gain vital knowledge about managing employee finances for your farm or food business, including controlling labor costs for sustainability. Make informed decisions to ensure success in your 2025 business endeavors.

What will you learn?

Strategies for Calculating and Controlling Labor Costs: Gain a deep understanding of how to accurately assess, budget for, and manage labor expenses in your farm or food business, helping you maintain profitability.

Event Details

Join this free webinar to learn how to effectively evaluate, budget, and control labor costs in your farm or food business for enhanced profitability.

This event is being offered at no charge to participants.

Registration is required to receive the link to access the webinar.

A link to the recorded webinar will be emailed to registrants within ten business days after the live event. The recording will be accessible for six months from the event date.

Grant Funding Opportunity Reference Guide

Andrew Holden, LERGP Business Management Educator
Lake Erie Regional Grape Program

Last Modified: November 20, 2024

I am excited to share two handouts that provide lists of potential grants and tax incentives for grape growers and wineries in the Lake Erie region of PA and NY.

In discussions with growers, industry professionals, and colleagues, it became evident that developing a comprehensive list would be beneficial to growers in the region seeking a single place to view applicable programs. My goal with these lists is to keep them updated on a regular basis and include all programs that could benefit the industry. Soon they will also be available online on our webpage so they can be quickly updated. These lists have been compiled from multiple agencies and funders and consist of timely and ongoing programs. When referencing programs listed in these handouts, please visit the webpage or call the parent agency for the most up-to-date and accurate information. If you have questions about the grants or programs or if you need assistance applying for them, please contact me to set up a meeting. Finally, if there are any programs, grants, incentives, or other financial assistance opportunities that you have used, or know of, that are not listed, please share them so that they may be included in the next update. 

Grants and Programs (pdf; 258KB)

• reference guide for current and upcoming available grants

How to use the Grape & Wine Classifieds

Andrew Holden, LERGP Business Management Educator
Lake Erie Regional Grape Program

September 23, 2024

How to Create an Account and/or Post an Ad

To keep all ad posts relevant and free from spam, the site is monitored and ads must be approved by an administrator. Posters must create a sign-in, username, and password.

• Click this link to access the website: https://flgclassifieds.cce.cornell.edu/

• At the homepage, you will be able to view the ads that others have posted. To post an ad, locate the red "login" button at the top right corner of the page.

• If this is your first time, you will have to create an account by clicking "Not a member?".

• You will need to provide your name and email address and come up with a username. Make sure to write this down!

• When you submit your information, the moderator needs to approve your request. (This site is monitored frequently during the work week, but this may take some time to get approved).

• Once the request is approved, you will receive an email to set your password. Click the link and use a unique password. (Write it down!)

• Once you have made your password and logged in, you can return to the home page and click the '+ Post an Ad' button in the top right corner of the webpage.

• The site will then direct you through 4 steps of creating an ad. Each question with an asterisk must be filled in to continue to the next step. You will enter a category of your item and the item details (with option to add photos). Then you will get to see a preview of your ad before posting.

• Once you submit an ad, it must still be approved, but once approved it will remain on the site for a month or until you remove it.

 By posting an ad on our site, you further agree to the following guidelines:

1. No foul or otherwise inappropriate language will be tolerated. Ads in violation of this rule are subject to being removed immediately and without warning. If it was a paid ad, no refund will be issued.

2. No racist, hateful, or otherwise offensive comments will be tolerated.

3. No ad promoting activities that are illegal under the current laws of this state or country.

4. Any ad that appears to be merely a test posting, a joke, or otherwise insincere or non-serious is subject to removal.

5. We reserve the ultimate discretion as to which ads, if any, are in violation of these guidelines.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions you have or issues posting an ad on the site. 

Please refer to the attached documentation for screenshots of the website pages.

How to Use the Wine & Grape Classifieds instruction guide (pdf; 279KB)

Tax Credit & Incentive Guide

Andrew Holden, LERGP Business Management Educator
Lake Erie Regional Grape Program

June 14, 2024

I am excited to share two handouts that provide lists of potential grants and tax incentives for grape growers and wineries in the Lake Erie region of PA and NY. In discussions with growers, industry professionals, and colleagues, it became evident that developing a comprehensive list would be beneficial to growers in the region seeking a single place to view applicable programs. My goal with these lists is to keep them updated on a regular basis and include all programs that could benefit the industry. Soon they will also be available online on our webpage so they can be quickly updated. These lists have been compiled from multiple agencies and funders and consist of timely and ongoing programs. When referencing programs listed in these handouts, please visit the webpage or call the parent agency for the most up-to-date and accurate information. If you have questions about the grants or programs or if you need assistance applying for them, please contact me to set up a meeting. Finally, if there are any programs, grants, incentives, or other financial assistance opportunities that you have used, or know of, that are not listed, please share them so that they may be included in the next update. 

Tax Credit & Incentive Guide (pdf; 282KB)