Keeping good help around: Finding and retaining qualified labor is critical to the success of family farms

Putting food on the table is labor intensive.

Every sector of agriculture relies on labor to get crops and livestock from the fields, dairies and feedlots to the final consumer. And labor is a part of the equation for a successful farm’s overall bottom line. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service says labor costs as a share of gross cash income for dairies averaged 10.2% in 2016.

It takes time to recruit and train new employees, so turnover or unfilled positions can be costly to a farmer-operator. In 2012, Michigan State University Extension’s Stan Moore looked at the cost of employee turnover on dairy farms.

“Labor experts report that we can conservatively use a figure of 100 to 150% of the position’s salary for hourly workers,” Moore stated. For an employee making $30,000 a year, the cost of turnover for that position is $45,000 in time, out of pocket costs and productivity.

“For a dairy farm with 20 employees and 10% turnover per year the cost would be $75,000 to $90,000 per year,” Moore stated.

Taking time to find, train and retain employees may feel frustrating to farm operators but when an employee has a direct impact on herd health, animal welfare, productivity and efficiency of the entire operation, it’s time well spent.

Managing attitude

Gregorio Billikopf from the University of California reported in 2012 that the primary reason dairy employees leave the farm is compensation and benefits, at 29%. Next, 14% said it was due to dairy economic problems, or the loss of the dairy itself. But then came the factors that managers have some control over including:

• Personal, family reasons—11%;

• Working schedules and time off—11%;

• Housing, transportation—8%;

• Relations with management—8% and

• Job duties—7%.

Ted Boersma owns Forget-Me-Not Farms, a large multi-generational dairy based near Cimarron, Kansas. The Boersmas operate two farms, one in Cimarron and one in Nebraska, with about 100 employees and managers who keep the milk trucks running. He spoke at the 2019 Cattle U in Dodge City, Kansas, and told attendees that it doesn’t matter if you have 1 or 100 employees, the key to retaining quality help is to create a culture of care.

“Do you make the employee or does the employee make you?” he asked the audience. “It’s both. You aren’t going to find the perfect employee, you’re going to have to make the employee you hire into the best he or she can be for you.” That takes time and patience, and those aren’t often found in large quantities in the hustle of daily farm life.

“I may have a cow that needs treated, and it would take me 20 minutes to treat her,” he said. “It may take two employees two hours to treat that same cow. If you take that personal, it’s offensive. But—did the cow get treated? Did what you want to get accomplished get accomplished? Yes. Did it get done how you would have done it? No, but that’s the trade.” Employees aren’t bound by blood and there’s dozens of other industries in the area that are hiring, from the packing plants to the oil and gas fields, to other manufacturing. Farmers are competing for help, and it’s easy to forget that.

“We forget we truly need the employee to succeed as much as we want to succeed,” Boersma said. “They aren’t just passing through. If we don’t want that for them, they won’t grasp how we want the job done.”

Be present to win

Boersma offered these tips to cattlemen and other agricultural employers when working with employees:

• Fear isn’t a motivator

“A lot of times we want to threaten that we’ll cut pay or their hours or that we’ll fire them,” Boersma told the audience. “And you may see a change temporarily, but they won’t stay long term and improve.” Instead, create boundaries and expectations that cut the fear that their best isn’t good enough.

• Answer even the simple questions

“We created an on-boarding position, who is one guy to welcome the new employee the first day, to make sure he knows the simple stuff,” Boersma said. “Where to park? How, when and where do you get your paycheck? Where are the restrooms? When do you get lunch breaks? It’s simple stuff, but it makes the employee comfortable to know that you care about them.”

• Share your culture

“We have a welcome letter that introduces us to them,” Boersma said. “We believe that’s important.” The Boersmas operate their family dairy based on their principles of faith and they share that with employees. From waving and stopping to talk when driving on the farm, to attending baptisms and graduations for employee families, to stopping by the hospital to check in on the sick, it’s the little acts that show that the family isn’t just “ownership” or “management” but people that you’d choose to work for, he told the crowd.

• The “Raffle Rule”

“As an owner/manager you have got to be there, you have to be present to win,” he said. Technology allows for efficiencies to be sure, but from an employee standpoint if all they see is you on your phone, or in your office, or driving by without stopping to check in, they won’t feel like you are vested in their needs.

• Lead by example

“If we aren’t leading by example, how can we expect them to?” Boersma asked. From wearing required safety gear on the farm, to sticking to the posted 20 miles per hour speed limit on the farm, to even keeping farm equipment clean, employees need to see that the boss is abiding by the same rules that he’s asking of them.

• Fix the broken windows

“If something is broken on the farm, get it fixed,” he said. “If you don’t, the employee will assume it doesn’t matter. And then, if something else breaks, well it doesn’t matter too. When our employees tell us something is broke we respond to that as soon as possible. Because if we don’t, then they won’t likely tell us the next time.” And that next major broken thing might cost even more time and money.

Employee management not only creates a better working environment for the humans on the farm, but it also directly impacts the health and welfare of the livestock and the efficiency in the crop field. And, it’s worth it to take time to put resources into making the most out of your relationship with employees.

Jennifer M. Latzke can be reached at 620-227-1807 or [email protected].