Page 16 • Dairy Star • Saturday, January 29, 2022
ConƟnued from OUR SIDE | Page 15 important and part of the team, they will do a better job. The follow-up training never stops. We have time set aside in Juan’s schedule for him to work with employees and ne tune and retrain when needed. We try to keep employees motivated. It seems like as long as you compliment them when they do good, they take the criticism and try to get better when they aren’t doing something correct. How does your farm remain competitive in retaining good employees? We offer vacation pay, overtime pay and exible schedules. We pick employees up when winter weather doesn’t allow them to drive safely. Housing is available. We help them nd housing when needed. We give them time off when they request it and treat them like we would want to be treated. Tell us about your farm. The owners are John and Dorothy and three sons, Greg, Jeff and Karl. Between rented and owned land, we run about 1,800 acres. We raise corn for silage, haylage, high-moisture shelled corn, soybean and meadow hay. We harvest all the feed for the animals and drag hose all of our manure. We milk 560 cows three times a day in a double-12 parlor and are milking 140 cows in two Lely robots in a cross-ventilated barn. Our dry cows are housed in free stalls, and the prefresh cows are on sawdust bed pack. We raise our heifers on several farms. The calves are fed pasteurized milk. They go into free stalls around 5-to 6-months-old until they are 60-days pregnant. From there, they are moved to outside lots. David and Angie Tauer Hanska, Minnesota Brown County 250 cows How many employees do you have, and what are their duties? As a third-generation family farm, we have an amazing team of employees making up 10 total. Two of our full-time employees are interns from the University of Minnesota MAST International exchange program who focus primarily on milking and learning overall farm operations. Our herdswoman focuses on feeding, animal health and crop production. Our part-time employees assist with milking, calves, general farm maintenance, feeding and eldwork. What are the shifts for your employees, and how do you handle time off for them? Our shifts and time off vary based on farm position and season. In a typical week, our herdswoman works daily split shifts with weekends off. Our full-time milkers receive one day off per week with other off time on a rotating schedule. We work with our part-time employees on exibility and t them where available. We strive to be fair, accommodating and exible to the best of our ability with our scheduling. What is the best method you use to nd quality employees? The MAST program and word of mouth have historically been our best tools for lling open positions. However, we were no exception to the labor shortage created by the pandemic. Our best method is to focus on personality and work ethic before experience. Some of our best employees have come with limited agriculture knowledge but a great attitude. We continually participate in college programs, MAST and Penn State Center for Dairy Excellence, to place interns and high school students wanting experience. Being open to people seeking second jobs has also helped us ll gaps. What training process do they go through after they are hired, and what follow-up training or continuing education do you offer? After hiring, we work one-on-one to ensure proper protocol and safety. It’s important everyone knows the ins and outs of the role
and can perform duties safely and effectively. By nature, we draw employees who are here to learn. It’s integral everyone has the skills needed while feeling continually accepted and comfortable. Our farm mission is to strive for excellence. We can only do so when our employees are set up for success. With a farm our size, there are numerous opportunities for growth and development. Everyone has the chance to do everything if desired. As a business model, we work hard to ensure we do the same jobs as our employees. Working with them every day is the best way to teach skills and form open, honest work relationships conducive to valuable feedback. We pass along as many meeting and workshop opportunities as possible. One simple thing we do is post articles on the barn fridge that may be of value to our employees or spark thoughtful discussion. How does your farm remain competitive in retaining good employees? Our biggest goal as a farm is to foster a positive work environment with a family feel. We work together to get the job done and remember a bad ve minutes doesn’t make a bad day. We speak to employees with respect and kindness and be sure to tell them thank you. Because many of our employees are thousands of miles from friends and family, we include them in everything from Sunday breakfast, after-chore bonres, our kids’ activities and holidays. Not only our farm, but our home, is open to employees. A constant supply of barn snacks and a good meal on a busy day is also well received. We end our year of hard work with an employee Christmas party at a local steakhouse followed by bowling. From a nancial standpoint, we pay competitively with other local businesses, pay cash bonuses and ensure everyone receives adequate time off. We provide housing for our interns. As owners, we constantly evaluate what it takes to be a farm people want to work for. Tell us about your farm. We are third-generation, family-owned, 250-cow Holstein herd. We farm 450 acres of corn, alfalfa and various cover crops all used for feed for our animals. We focus on genetics, quality components, overall herd health and being good stewards of our resources.
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Matt and Emily Zabel Plainview, Minnesota Wabasha County 400 cows How many employees do you have, and what are their duties? We have seven fulltime employees; ve are milking, but they also have other duties. They also do some bedding, clean barns, groom stalls, watch calving pens and feed new calves colostrum. The night crew also feeds calves in between shifts. Two of our employees are feed mixers/general labor. They mix for the cows and also the heifers at another facility. When feeding is done, they typically work on hauling manure, bedding, xing things or whatever else needs to be done for the day. We also have two to three people who work seasonally or as needed. What are the shifts for your employees, and how do you handle time off for them? The milkers work 12-hour shifts. Each shift has two milkers, switching milkers in the middle of the afternoon milking. As far as time off for them, they work together and communicate with each other on any time off they need. The employees who mix feed work approximately 10-hour shifts. They work most of the day on the home farm and a few hours at the heifer facility. Whenever they need time off, it is discussed with me and Matt, and we work together on getting everything covered. What is the best method you use to nd quality employees? Our current employees have been great at nding replacements. We’ve also had success with word of mouth. Our dairy is located by a highway and near town, so we will occasionally have people stop in looking for work. What training process do they go through after they are hired, and what follow-up training or continuing education do you offer? Once hired, they shadow an employee for three days or so. We have employee meetings bi-monthly and have a translator present for our Spanish-speaking employees. During these meetings, milking procedures, scheduling and comments or concerns are discussed. We also work closely with our veterinarian and do milking procedure workshops and discuss protocols. We would like to improve on more follow-up instruction and demonstrations early in the training process so there is less room for establishing bad habits. How does your farm remain competitive in retaining good employees? It is an ongoing balancing act to keep employees happy, but we try to do so in a variety of ways. We give yearly raises, cash Christmas bonuses and housing if they are interested. Occasionally we do meals in the break room or food for holidays. We try to show our employees we value them by treating them with respect. We genuinely care about them, their interests and their views or suggestions. As an employer, we aren’t hesitant to pick up a shovel or pitch fork. We don’t expect them to do something we’re not willing to do. Tell us about your farm. We farm with Matt’s parents, Tim and Tammie, making us a fourth-generation farm. We milk 360 cows three times a day in a double-5 parlor. They are housed in sandbedded free stalls. We also run 750 acres of corn and alfalfa. We raise half of our replacement heifers, and the remainder are custom raised along with far-off dry cows.
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