Labor shortages are certainly not new to the dairy industry. The pandemic caused a ripple effect that impacted nearly every corner of the world facing shortages in terms of labor. Knowing labor is one of the most important resources on the farm, the conversation turns to retention, to reduce labor pains.
Jorge Delgado, an on-farm specialist with Alltech, says that producers are, for the most part, not really prepared to face the reality.
“Milking is one of the most labor-intense areas on the farm,” he says. “Keeping these guys motivated is a big problem. This challenge is the number-one problem not only in the dairy industry, but agriculture in general.”
Jennifer Bentley, a dairy field specialist with the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach program, concurs with Delgado and adds that labor shortages intensify with more generations removed from working on agricultural farms.
“It takes that motivation and training to get those employees engaged and to stay on these farms,” she says.
According to Delgado, approximately 60% of the milk produced in this country depends on immigrant labor.
“Milking cows and other positions in those roles in the dairy industry are highly dependable on immigrant labor,” he says.
The duo share five tips to help keep current employees on the farm.
Tips to Retain Employees
- Education matters. “Through education, workers see the dairy industry as a place where they can be listened to and that they will be taken care of,” Delgado says.
- Visual and Hands-on. Immigrants typically come from Mexico and Central America, but more and more are coming from Nicaragua, Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala. These countries tend to have lower reading comprehension. “We must create a lot of visual materials, such as posters, videos, aminations and a lot of hands-on training and practices that these guys can understand,” Delgado shares.
- Language Barriers. In many cases, the guys from Guatemala or even Central America don’t speak Spanish as a first language. “They speak a dialect,” Delgado shares. “Those dialects can be really hard to understand and really hard to translate, so more visuals are needed to communicate.”
- Online Training. “I think we’re seeing a very high need for additional resources in training employees, whether they’re Spanish-speaking or English-speaking,” Bentley says. A partnership between the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Alltech and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach has developed multiple online training videos available to producers to help employees understand their ‘hows’ and ‘why’s. “We know that when employees understand the ‘why’s of their job, they’ll more than likely perform their job at increased efficiency and have a more motivated ability to do their job.”
- Take Care of Employees. “I think we need to work with the employees and take care of them first because they are the ones behind the cows,” Delgado says. Provide the needed tools to set the employees up for success. For example, well-maintained equipment as well as a comfortable temperature to milk the cows in the parlor. Also, show signs of appreciation, like pizza parties. Remember these guys on Christmas or their birthdays. “It’s very important for their culture,” Delgado notes.
Repetition matters, too. Providing safety training and other educational resources really makes the difference behind milk quality and animal welfare, but also with employees feeling like they are engaged and part of the bigger success picture of the farm.
“If we treat these guys right, then these guys will feel that they are part of the business, and then they will come with feedback and solutions with ideas that will improve all these things,” Delgado notes.
Free, online training resources are available at: https://go.iastate.edu/MILKERTRAINING
