Specialty Crop Business Development Webinars Scheduled for September
S.D. Specialty Producers Association (SDSPA) is offering two webinars in September focused on business development. Join us on Tues., Sept. 23, 2025 at 2 p.m. Central for a discussion on ‘Seasonal Labor Hiring and Retention’ for specialty crop producers.
Learn from Lacey Johnson from the S.D. Department of Labor and Regulation about ways to attract and retain seasonal laborers, where to list seasonal specialty crop jobs, and other resources available to business owners to assist in the development of labor and workforce.
Nancy Kirstein, from The Good Earth Farm in Lennox, S.D. will share a variety of seasonal labor opportunities that The Good Earth Farm has utilized including WOOFing, live-in interns, locals, and team weeders. She will give her insight on the pros, cons, and things to avoid when looking for seasonal laborer options.
On Thurs., Sept. 25th at 2 p.m. Central join SDSPA for a 2nd webinar on ‘Financing Basics and Tools’ featuring the S.D. Small Business Development Center (SD SBDC) and Farm Service Agency (FSA).
Matty Kerr from the SD SBDC will share resources and services available to producers for business planning prior to approaching a lender. Gail Gullickson from FSA will share about financing resources for specialty crop producers, review the 5C’s of Credit, and more on what financial ratios lenders (FSA and commercial lenders) would be looking at when producers apply for credit.
Both webinars will last approximately 1 hour. To receive the participation link, pre-register by accessing the event calendar listing or by clicking the links above.
Additional resource on business development have also been posted online to access when convenient. Our latest video, Record Keeping and Sales Tax for Specialty Crop Businesses, features Dan Johnson, Senior Revenue Agent from the SD Department of Revenue. Johnson shares important record keeping considerations when collecting various payment types, the basics of sales tax for different types of specialty crop businesses, and other important tax and filing information. Find a full listing on our Marketing & Business YouTube playlist.
Our latest Fresh Bites Podcast episodes include the ‘Host Calculator Tool’ with Dr. Ariana Torres Bravo. The tool developed by the Purdue University Horticulture Business team can assist beginning or seasoned farmers with calculating crop profitability and planning profitable farm investments.
An additional episode ‘Grow Your Green Farm Profitability’ explores market garden profitability by learning important record keeping considerations, common mistakes made by specialty crop farmers, and how to utilize the Grow Your Green profitability resources created by the Minnesota Farmers Market Association. Watch our full series on profitability here.