Employee Training Resources

Mentoring is at the heart of the Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship. To help farmers hire the right Apprentice and effectively share their knowledge, we have created fact sheets, webinars, and other materials. Whether you’re a farmer, non-profit or university educator, please feel free to download and use these materials.
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Training the Trainer Series

Finding the Right Apprentice: Selection and Hiring Practices

The first webinar in the series covers everything you need to know about identifying, interviewing, selecting an Apprentice (including using DGA tip sheets), get the most out of the DGA website candidate list, hear from Mentors, Leon Corse of Vermont and Joe Tomandl of Wisconsin on how they found their Apprentices.

Your Apprentice's First Week: Getting Off to a Good Start

The first few days set the tone for the whole two-year Apprenticeship, so how you introduce your new Apprentice to your farm, family members and other employees will have long-lasting impacts, either positive or negative. This video provides tips from Mentors, Ben Jensen and Matt DeGrandpre from Wolfe’s Neck Farm in Maine and Education Coordinator and long-time dairy farmer, Altfrid Krusenbaum.

Care and Feeding of Your Adult Learner: Strategies for Effective Training

Each of us learns in unique ways. This video will cover tips and ideas on teaching styles that work well for adult learners including Mentor perspectives on what has worked well with their Apprentices. Join former Program Director, Laura Paine and Mentors, Don Boland and Joe Tomandl to learn more about learning styles and how to use them effectively.

Good Communication for a Good Apprenticeship Experience

How you communicate with your Apprentice will influence how well you will work together and how much your Apprentice will learn from you. Getting off to a good start and setting a tone of clear and open communication is key to making the Apprenticeship relationship rewarding for you both. This webinar will cover basics of good communication and constructive criticism as well as perspectives from Mentors. Webinar presenters will include former Program Director, Laura Paine and Mentor Dairy Graziers, Audrey Gay Rodgers from Pennsylvania and Andy Bures from Wisconsin.