Released: June 15, 2001

Conference to Focus on Hiring, Keeping Good Ag Employees

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Agricultural businesses are a diverse lot. But farms, flour mills, feedlots, oilseed processors and others all have something in common - challenges in hiring and retaining quality employees.

Help is at hand for those who attend the "Employee Management for Production Agriculture" conference slated for August 2-3, 2001 at the Embassy Suites at the Kansas City airport. The conference is sponsored by Kansas State University.

"Human resource management is something most employers struggle with, but don’t know where to go for help," said Sarah Fogleman, agricultural economist with K-State Research and Extension and conference coordinator. "This is truly a unique conference that allows producers and managers from all agricultural backgrounds to talk about the one problem they have in common - managing, motivating and keeping quality employees."

Fogleman said Kansas City was chosen because of its central location to numerous key agricultural states. Last year’s conference drew participants from 13 states and she hopes this year’s conference will build on that success.

"This is one of the few conferences of this kind in the country," she said. "Conference participants will be given the opportunity to learn from each other through producer discussion groups, as well as through 13 breakout sessions and three general sessions."

General sessions will focus on:
* Motivating People to be Their Best;
* Keys to Communication;
* Now What? Developing Strategies for Taking It Home.

Breakout session topics include:
* Managing a Multi-Cultural Workforce;
* Minimizing Legal Risks;
* The First Thirty Days;
* Building a Total Compensation Package;
* Managing Through Change;
* Evaluating Performance and Providing Feedback;
* Resolving Conflicts;
* Managing the Family Workforce;
* Selecting for Success;
* Putting Personalities to Work;
* Finding and Developing Labor Pools; and
* Getting Started.

Speakers include experts from business, academia and government including Robert Milligan from Cornell University, who is a nationally recognized expert in managing human resources in small businesses; and Bernard Erven of The Ohio State University, who is a foremost authority on human resource management in agriculture.

Other speakers include Ron Hanson of the University of Nebraska; Juan Marinez, USDA; Lisa Tokach, Abilene Animal Hospital; Don Tyler, Profitable Solutions; Kristin Oliver, attorney with the Tulsa law firm Gable & Gotwals; and Fogleman, who is the Extension agricultural economist in Southeast Kansas.

For more information or to register, call 620-431-1530 or visit www.oznet.ksu.edu/employee. The fee is $150 per person if registered by July 11. After that date, the fee is $200. Group discounts are available. The fee includes noon and evening meals.

-30-

K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.

Story by:
Mary Lou Peter, Communications Specialist
mlpeter@oznet.ksu.edu
K-State Research& Extension News