Propelled by the pandemic, labor shortages are all-to-common -- and dairy farms across the U.S. have been feeling the pinch. It takes people power to feed the cows, milk the cows and care for cows. After all, dairying is truly a 24/7 occupation. Dairy farmer Roger Herrera understands all too well the constant labor headache, but he is committed to become the employer of choice.
Located in central California, Herrera, alongside his brother Sabino, operate two 2,500-cow dairies: Ahlem Farms Partnership and Ahlem Farms Vista. While managing two dairies comes with its own set of challenges, Herrera says finding people to work is becoming increasingly difficult, and retaining good employees is an absolute must.
“It’s not uncommon to have a month go by without one person stopping in looking for work,” notes Herrera, who currently manages 45 employees but ideally likes to have 50.
Both Herrera and Stan Moore, farm business management educator with Michigan State University Extension, addressed labor at the 2021 Milk Business Conference in Las Vegas.
Born in Mexico, Herrera emigrated with his family to the U.S. when he was four years old and grew up in Los Angles. He initially pursued a career in law enforcement, a job he held until 2009. It was at that time his brother and the Ahlems extended him an invitation to join the partnership as they explored the idea of expanding their single dairy farm into three. They purchased a second dairy in 2010 and a third in 2012. However, the decision was later made to no longer milk cows at the dairy they purchased in 2010.
While Herrera very much enjoyed working in law enforcement, and as difficult as it was to leave family and friends in L.A., he says he knew it was too good of a business opportunity to pass up. He and his family moved 300 miles north to Hilmar, as he took the leap of faith to work in the dairy industry.
“I’m inquisitive by nature,” Herrera shares. “I’m interested in learning new things and it also offered the freedom of being my own employer and raising my family in a less congested environment like LA.”
While there was a steep learning curve, Herrera wanted to completely immerse himself into the dairy industry. He job shadowed his brother for a year before they purchased the second farm in 2010. Learning about cows was his biggest challenge, he says.
Herrera uses the skills he gained while working in county jails on the dairy.
“I enjoy the logistics aspects of the [law enforcement] job and apply those skills with everyday pen moves,” he says.
And just as he did when serving as a police officer, Herrera tries to be fair and just on the farm and believes solid communication is the driving tool to making it all work.
As an owner, Herrera says the biggest lesson learned is that everything lands on his shoulders.
“Responsibility comes with ownership,” he adds. “You can only take credit for everything, only if you take responsibility for everything, too.”
Managing Coworkers
Today, in addition to managing all aspects of the farm —the milking barn, the outside tasks, contracting feed, etc., Herrera allocates most of his time of the dairy to “being a gopher for my employees.” Although Herrera doesn’t refer to them as his employees or wants to be called the boss.
“I think of them as my coworkers,” he notes. “I let my guys know, ‘Hey, I’m here. My job is here to help you, so if I can help you, come to me, that’s my job. I’m not the boss. I’m not the owner. I’m not the supervisor. I’m the guy who is going to fix your problems or try to fix them as best I can.’ The only problem I haven’t been able to help them with is getting more help. That’s what we’re struggling with now.”
Being creative to combat labor shortages, Herrera offers incentives to his coworkers.
“I give them a $500 bonus if they recommend someone and the individual stays with us for three months,” he says.
Additionally, employees get bonuses for milk quality, holiday pay and if they don’t call in sick. Ahlems provide medical insurance if their employees get hurt, get sick or go to the hospital on their own.
“This is not workers comp related,” Herrera notes. “We will cover their co-pays. I don’t want our guys not going to the doctor because they don’t want to pay the $25 co-pay.”
Team Player
In addition to having a well-executed human resource plan, Herrera also tries to connect with his employees. He encourages others to try not to be an ‘upper-level boss.’
“I literally walk the dairy and visit with the guys and ask, ‘How are you doing? and ‘What can I do to make your job better?’” he says.
Sometimes this makes employees pause because often they have not had a boss ask those questions.
“Many times, they feel as if it’s ‘them’ versus ‘us’ and I want them to know we are all in the same boat,” he adds.
Herrera also tries to develop a sense of ownership among the employees on the farm and makes them realize they play a huge role in the success of the operation. That includes asking for input from employees on what they think about protocols.
“I tell them, ‘You’re the one doing this, so you’re the professional. You’ve got more experience than I do because you do it every day,’” he notes.
Having open conversations with his employees makes them feel like they are part of a team, to which Herrera responds: “They are.”
By talking with the employees about changes that need to happen, “they then have authorized it and they’re more prone to take action and follow through on protocols or action items,” Herrera states.
Retention Tips
While Herrera realizes he has the upper hand, being bilingual himself, he encourages other dairy producers to do more than talk to Spanish-speaking workers.
“Talking and demonstrating what you want them to do will resonate more than just telling them,” he shares.
A posterboard that features all the employees’ pictures and names is on display at Ahlem Farms.
“When I go up and talk to them, I want to be able to properly identify them,” Herrera says. “These are people who work with me. When you can call them by name, it’s more personal and it makes them feel like you respect them more.”
At the Milk Business Conference, Moore shared his “effects on employer management on employee retention, satisfaction, engagement and retention on large U.S. dairy farms” research that illustrated 27% of farm employees have not received a praise in the last 15 days.
“When we hand out mostly negative feedback, we are missing the opportunity to give them the positive feedback they need,” Moore shares.
When passing out paychecks, Moore says employers have an opportunity then to say something positive to their employees.
“Most employees receive a paycheck every two weeks, so this is an opportunity to increase positive feedback delivery to employees.”
Research shows lack of feedback in the workplace can be interpreted by the employee as negative feedback.
“Sometimes we make things up in our mind when we don’t hear positive feedback,” Moore notes.
The labor shortage problem is neither straightforward nor a simple fix. Using a more strategic approach to the labor recruitment process, as well as positive feedback to retain current employees, can help keep your labor running more smoothly.
Herrera’s unique background, positive personality and overall commitment to cultivating a positive work environment is helping incentivize his coworkers to stick around to spell success for Ahlem Farms.
