Harvesting Solutions

The grassroots membership of Minnesota Farm Bureau continually identifies issues impacting agriculture and Minnesota. As a result of this process, Minnesota Farm Bureau is able to share the voices of its members, find resources and work towards solutions to help keep communities thriving.

Join us this summer as Harvesting Solutions returns, digging into four topics surfaced by our members. All webinars will be on Facebook Live at 2 p.m. and are scheduled to be 30 minutes.

June 16, 2 p.m. – Human Health Aspects of Animal Disease, featuring Dr. Stacy Holzbauer, Minnesota Department of Health

July 21, 2 p.m. – Infrastructure: Rural Roads and Bridges, featuring Graham Berg-Moberg, Minnesota Association of Townships

August 18, 2 p.m. – School Funding, featuring Darrin Strosahl, Minnesota Rural Education Association

September 22, 2 p.m. – Energy, featuring Joe Miller, Minnesota Rural Electric Association

Below you will find previous episodes of our Harvesting Solutions series, and ways to take action and advance solutions in your community.

Harvesting Solutions: Childcare in Minnesota

Now what? Passionate about advancing childcare and supporting your community? Use the following resources to get started, and reach out to your local Farm Bureau to get them engaged in taking action.

Visit www.childcareaccess.org to get a picture of what childcare access looks like in your community.
See if there's an organization/association of childcare workers in your community and ask what they need for support.
Work with local licensors to identify needs in your community and and share information about resources for providers.
Talk with all levels of government (city council/mayor, county commissioners, state legislators, etc.) about the importance of supporting childcare initiatives.

Harvesting Solutions: Healthcare in Minnesota

Now what? Passionate about advancing healthcare and supporting your community? Use the following ideas to get started, and reach out to your local Farm Bureau to get them engaged in taking action.

Gather like-minded leaders and community representatives together to create sounding boards and a process for voices to be heard.
Promote careers in rural healthcare to students at an early age.
Support rural medical school programs.
Research and invest in programs to strengthen emergency medical response teams.
Invest in and collaborate with others to strengthen rural “main streets”.

Harvesting Solutions: Labor in Minnesota

Now what? Passionate about advancing labor and supporting your community? Use the following ideas to get started, and reach out to your local Farm Bureau to get them engaged in taking action.

Visit mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools to view employment statistics, unemployment rates, wages, salaries, and job projections for your area.
Develop relationships with your local regional development commission or workforce development groups.
Work with your local school district to assist with career exploration days, internships, etc. to expose students (and their parents) to career opportunities in your community.
Use DEED data to look at basic needs cost of living to adjust wages, and change required qualifications on job postings to make your openings more competitive.