We explore real legal issues faced on farms every day, providing key knowledge and tangible solutions to help you grow a thriving agricultural business.
Episode 78: Addressing Disability Accommodations in a Farm Employee Manual
EVA and CHLOE explore the importance of establishing a disability accommodation policy in a farm employee manual, ensuring equitable communication and a healthy workplace while mitigating discrimination risks; this is a discussion.
26 Mar 2025
Episode 77: Accommodating Employee Disabilities on the Farm and Ranch
In this episode, Eva and Bonita share important considerations for accommodating employee disabilities on the farm and ranch. You'll learn what a disability is in the eyes of the law, how to engage with employees about their accommodation requests, and how an accommodation decision could risk a discrimination claim. We share 5 steps for proactively managing accommodations for your employees to create an inclusive, accommodating workplace at your farm or ranch to minimize legal and financial risks while supporting employee retention.We also highlight a couple of brand new legal guides that will help you navigate accommodation decisions for your particular operation. Recommended resources:* Accommodation Strategies for Farm and Ranch Employers (https://farmcommons.org/resources/articles/accommodation-strategies-for-farm-and-ranch-employers/)* That’s Unreasonable! Making Sense of the ADA on the Farm (https://farmcommons.org/resources/articles/thats-unreasonable-making-sense-of-the-ada-on-the-farm/)This material is based upon work supported by USDA/NIFA under Award Number 2023-70027-40444.
8 May 2024
Episode 76: Facing Food Safety Regulation with Farmer Lindsay
Lindsay Klaunig (she/her) is the farmer and owner of Trouvaille Farm in Athens, Ohio. She raises grass-fed beef and goats on pasture, heirloom crops on the ridge tops, and makes artisan chocolate and other treats in their farm kitchen. She is also a seed producer, growing heirloom vegetable seeds that are sold through small regional seed companies. Previously, Lindsay worked as a specialty cheesemaker on a small-scale dairy farm in the early days of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). It was during this time that Lindsay experienced a federal site inspection.
In this episode, Lindsay is interviewed by her longtime friend Isabel. The two discuss how food safety enforcement has changed over the years, specifically describing what the situation was like before FSMA and how FSMA changed things in many ways for the better. Lindsay opens up about the FDA audit that she went through, sharing powerful tips for balancing out the power dynamic with regulators and offering wise insights about how and why communication and relationship building have been critical to her resilience.
As Linday says to Isabel, “growing food is the most important thing you could do for a living, but if you’re paying attention you’ll also see that it’s fraught, it’s risky, and opens you up to a world of divisive opinions, clashes in values, and constantly changing rules and changing guidance from the regulators…” and yet she keeps choosing to do it, as perhaps you keeping choosing to do as well. You will walk away from this episode with a refreshed perspective on food safety risk management, and a healthy reminder that your risk tolerance evolves right along with you.
Farm Commons is grateful to have collaborated with Lindsay as a member of the 2023 Collaborative Learning Fellowship.
A full transcript of the episode will be available soon.
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Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
7 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 31 / 100
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Quality
30
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
81
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