The average annual turnover rate for workers on U.S. dairies is nearly 40%, according to a recent survey of dairy farm labor practices by the Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) Workforce Development Task Force.
In the same study, dairy farm managers rated difficulty in finding new employees a “4” on a 1-5 scale. And human resources experts say replacing an employee can now cost a business from one-half to a stunning 4 times that person’s salary. That estimate factors in “hard’ costs like recruiting fees and training time, as well as “soft” costs like lower productivity and loss of worker knowledge.
The Dairy Cattle Reproduction Council (DCRC) will be hosting an online webinar, “Cows and People Make a Dairy Go,” addressing the challenges of finding and keeping high-quality dairy employees. Dr. Greg Bethard, managing partner and CEO at High Plains Ponderosa Dairy in Plains, Kan., will share his insights on attracting top talent, leading people, developing a vision and culture that employees want to be part of, and inspiring people.
The webinar’s key learning objectives include:
• Gain an appreciation of running a large business with lots of moving parts.
• Understand the complexities of managing people.
• Recognize the technology and organization needed to manage systems on a dairy.
The DCRC webinar will take place on Tuesday, October 22, starting at 11:00 a.m. central time. You can register for the free webinar here.
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