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Mercer County OSU Extension Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator Ryan McMichael was the featured speaker at Wednesday's Western Dairy Luncheon Series in New Bremen. This month's theme was “Strategies for Attracting and Retaining a Farm Workforce” and covered a variety of topics.
“If you're hiring workers and you know the job market, it seems like everyone is hiring. What do you need to do to find and retain that workforce?” Michael said.
One of the main factors McMichael identified as contributing to the current labor market was the coronavirus.
“2020 has made that even more clear. Employees who have left the company have gone out. This accounts for a large portion of our losses when it comes to finding employees. We are closing those gaps. We’re trying to fill it,” McMichael said. McMichael said these gaps are being felt across agriculture, regardless of size.
“It's difficult for farms of all sizes,” McMichael said. He explained that local farms typically need support during busy seasons, but larger operations require year-round support due to the size of their herds.
As the labor market has changed, so have employees, McMichael said.
“It used to be that everyone's key was how much they were getting paid. It's shifted to, 'What other benefits are there?'” McMichael said. McMichael said the industry sometimes doesn't communicate these benefits well to employees, he said.
“We need to make sure our employees understand that there are benefits to working on a farm,” McMichael says. In addition to this, he pointed out that the workforce has much more influence than before, thanks to current demands and the ability to find work elsewhere.
McMichael said the first step farms should take is to understand their needs. He urged participants not to rush to seek help, but to think ahead about when they might need that labor.
“How much do you need? How much can you provide? What can you do? What are the trade-offs you can make? Can you hire more workers for fewer hours or more workers? “Can we hire some workers to spend more?” McMichael asked. Another key in this area is that McMichael provided a very detailed job description when hired and knew the labor laws.
“If I’m going to find and hire high school students, I want to make sure I’m following the law so I don’t get into trouble later on,” McMichael said.
Mr. McMichael covered a variety of detailed topics, including the average annual labor cost per cow, the cost of hiring legal H-2A immigrant workers, and where to find workers. The last big topic was the need to train workers to farm employees.
“The most important thing with our younger generation coming in is you have to train them. If you don't train them, they're likely to leave.” Mr. McMichael said. He explained that as agriculture becomes less visible, these skill sets tend to disappear as well.
“Farm skill sets aren't what they used to be. We don't have the farm experience skills that new generations have,” McMichael said. He said there are still some good children on the farm, but they won't be thinking about leaving their farm.
As McMichael concluded his talk, he reiterated important points and emphasized one of the most important points.
“Flexibility is key. In this job market, you have to be a little more flexible to find those employees,” McMichael said.
