By Scout Nelson
The Kansas Department of Agriculture and the Kansas Department of Commerce, together with the Nurture Kansas Agriculture Collaborative Coalition, announce a new webinar series designed to support agricultural employers across the state. The program, called Growing Strong Together, focuses on workforce-related topics and aims to provide practical information that strengthens agricultural businesses and communities.
The webinars will take place every Wednesday in March at 7:00 a.m. (Central Time) and are offered at no cost to participants. The series is designed to help employers better understand workforce challenges while improving workplace practices and supporting farmworkers.
The Nurture Kansas Agriculture Collaborative Coalition was established in 2021 to improve the well-being of farmworkers and agricultural employers through education, outreach, and partnerships. The coalition includes state and federal agencies as well as private industry groups working together to address workforce needs and strengthen agricultural communities across Kansas.
The webinar schedule includes four key topics; on March 4, participants learn about employer services offered through Kansas works. the march 11 session covers the federal insecticide, fungicide, and rodenticide act worker protection standard and focuses on workplace safety and compliance. On March 18, the discussion highlights strategies for retaining the next generation of rural workers. The final webinar will be on March 25 which focuses on wage and hour compliance under the H-2a program.
“The sole focus of the webinar series is to help Kansas ag employers,” said Dana Ladner, KDA compliance education and workforce development coordinator.
Wendy Mongeau, state monitor advocate for the Workforce Services Division of the Kansas Department of Commerce, added, “We want webinar participants to come away with insights and current information that will enable them to better support our state’s farmworkers and agricultural employers and the ag industry.”
Registration and additional details about the webinars are available online at:
www.agriculture.ks.gov/workforce
Overall, the Growing Strong Together webinar series provides valuable learning opportunities that help Kansas agricultural employers improve workforce knowledge, strengthen operations, and support long-term success within the agriculture industry.
Photo Credit: gettyimages-golubovy
Categories: Kansas, Business, Education, General