Farm and Value-Added Processing Labor: Branan Presents With Farmer Panel at Annual Carolina Meat Conference

— Written By
en Español / em Português
Español

El inglés es el idioma de control de esta página. En la medida en que haya algún conflicto entre la traducción al inglés y la traducción, el inglés prevalece.

Al hacer clic en el enlace de traducción se activa un servicio de traducción gratuito para convertir la página al español. Al igual que con cualquier traducción por Internet, la conversión no es sensible al contexto y puede que no traduzca el texto en su significado original. NC State Extension no garantiza la exactitud del texto traducido. Por favor, tenga en cuenta que algunas aplicaciones y/o servicios pueden no funcionar como se espera cuando se traducen.


Português

Inglês é o idioma de controle desta página. Na medida que haja algum conflito entre o texto original em Inglês e a tradução, o Inglês prevalece.

Ao clicar no link de tradução, um serviço gratuito de tradução será ativado para converter a página para o Português. Como em qualquer tradução pela internet, a conversão não é sensivel ao contexto e pode não ocorrer a tradução para o significado orginal. O serviço de Extensão da Carolina do Norte (NC State Extension) não garante a exatidão do texto traduzido. Por favor, observe que algumas funções ou serviços podem não funcionar como esperado após a tradução.


English

English is the controlling language of this page. To the extent there is any conflict between the English text and the translation, English controls.

Clicking on the translation link activates a free translation service to convert the page to Spanish. As with any Internet translation, the conversion is not context-sensitive and may not translate the text to its original meaning. NC State Extension does not guarantee the accuracy of the translated text. Please note that some applications and/or services may not function as expected when translated.

Collapse ▲
Andrew Branan, ARE Extension Assistant Professor, was invited to participate in a discussion on employment law issues faced by farms and value-added meat businesses at the Carolina Meat Conference (CMC) in Charlotte, NC on October 7, 2019.
The annual CMC, organized by NC Choices and the Center for Environmental Farming Systems, is a broad gathering of sustainable and niche meat farm producers and processors from North Carolina and beyond. Branan, along with Jamie Ager, owner of Hickory Nut Gap Meats, and Casey Mckissick, owner of Foothills Local Meats, discussed various tips and challenges of recruiting, training, and developing a productive workforce while avoiding certain pitfalls. Branan, for his part, highlighted the challenges posed by labor law agricultural exemptions – including those in the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and the North Carolina Workers Compensation Act – when farm labor is employed on the side of value-added meat processing, which can present a grey area between differing workers’ compensation requirements between agricultural labor and labor that may be considered non-agricultural. For example, agricultural operations are not statutorily required to carry workers compensation when employing ten or fewer non-seasonal regular employees (this excludes H-2A labor), whereas a non-agricultural operation must carry workers compensation when employing 3 or more employees. Meat producers who also manage their own processing must take care when crossing this boundary, which presently under North Carolina law is not clear. Branan emphasized that producers and processors should not be shy about consulting with an attorney specializing in employment law issues when weighing such matters, or even when looking to develop documentation systems such as employee handbooks and evaluation tools.
Andrew’s presentation to the conference can be downloaded from the Agricultural and Natural Resource portal.