Latest News From Labor

A recent USDA Ag Prices Report outlined that labor expenses were up 7.3% compared to 2020. Ben Laine with Terrain says that it’s not about the cost of labor, it’s about the availability of reliable labor.

Letting an employee know how he or she is performing can encourage the employee to perform at a high level, and letting the employee know he or she has fallen short can help reinforce expectations.

Farmers are confronted with a long list of challenges and labor is one of the biggest concerns facing dairy. Arizona dairy farmer, Casey Dugan, recently spoke about labor and hiring inmates on AgriTalk.

There is no time like the start of a new year to take a pulse on your company’s compensation and HR practices to see if they are in line with the outlook and trends for 2023. Here are five things to consider.

Dairy farmers and their employees don’t have the luxury of skipping work for a snow day. Know how to keep your team safe and warm.

Managers tend to focus on two groups: the overachievers and the underachievers. As a result, he says, you neglect the employees who could become high performers — aka the B players. 

“I'm here to tell you that the labor market is never looking back to where it has been."

As the leader, you can make these sessions productive and easy with a few tips. 

One common challenge that pretty much every dairy producer can comment on is labor challenges. While labor shortages are no longer a stark headline, they certainly continue to be a headache dairy farms are faced with.

Your goal is to commit yourself to establishing a culture of thanks on your farm. Try out a few of these ideas during this season of Thanksgiving.

Despite having a current expiration date of Oct. 31, 2022, employers should continue using the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification until further notice.

Given today’s disconnection and selfishness, fretting over how people feel about work might be misplaced concern.  

Conflict. Everyone wants to avoid it, but experts say that's never a good move. 

When it comes to turnover, leading experts say a producer shouldn’t just chalk it up that an employee left for more money. Pausing to understand your workforce’s needs can help minimize turnover in the long run.

Labor shortages are no longer a stark headline, but instead a continued headache dairy farms are faced with. Recently on an Ag Future podcast, Dr. Luke Miller with Alltech spoke about training and retaining labor.

Certainly, you can attract new employees and hold on to your current staff by raising wages and improving benefit packages, but helping employees feel engaged and appreciated can also take other forms.

The U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday announced a final rule aimed at improving living conditions for temporary immigrant farmworkers.

Looking for talent? Ready to make a career change? AgCareers.com announced their 2022-2023 line-up of “Feed Your Future’ virtual career fairs.

Labor struggles in the dairy industry and a sharp focus on the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, was recently discussed during an episode of The Dairy Download from International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA).

A lack of understanding and appreciation for what farmers do is resulting in increased feelings of loneliness among farmers, a new study suggests. Loneliness is often linked to depression and anxiety.

When Julie ten Hoeve called her son’s high school to report Ian being absent to help chop corn on the family's 650-cow dairy farm, she worried about what the school would say. The school’s response eased her mind.

Grain shipments on some railroads could stop as early as Wednesday, two days ahead of a possible rail strike. A rail stoppage is growing more likely as the country’s main rail unions remain at odds with rail companies.

Get to know your employees as people beyond what they bring to work.

The workplace trend, quiet quitting, has gotten a lot of attention lately. Instead of going above and beyond, employees are wanting more from their work-life balance. The question is how do you keep employees motivated?

From a train derailment outside Hereford, Texas, to growing concerns about a possible labor strike in mid-September, rail delays have been a severe pain point for the grain users and shippers all year.

How can you reward team members for good work, increase employee retention and achieve your operation’s goals? Consider implementing an incentive pay system to reward your farm employees.

One, two, three strikes you’re out. While this saying goes hand in hand with baseball, some farmers are wondering how many strikes until they let an employee go, as they deal with one issue after the next.

These scorching summer temps are not only taking a toll on crops and livestock, but farm employees as well.

A potential stoppage on the nation's railways this fall is spurring concern, even after President Biden signed an executive order Sunday to keep U.S. rail traffic on track and the collective bargaining process going.

President Biden and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador are meeting Tuesday as both face a surge in migration. They are expected to announce multiyear, joint projects to modernize border infrastructure.

To stay competitive in the labor market, consider adding an attractive paid time off policy to your farm business to help keep you and employees happy.

How can we find, train, motivate and keep the best workers to manage our cows?

"To be truly successful, it’s all about the people behind the cows.”

This week, dangerous heat is sweeping across Texas to Wisconsin to Ohio to Georgia.

From recruitment to retention to building trust in the workplace, AgCareers.com will host their annual HR Roundtable on June 15, discussing current trends and issues in the agriculture industry workforce.

How to develop a “Code of Conduct” to guide your interactions with job applicants.

As outdoor temperatures increase, so does the possibility of heat stress or even heat stroke. But there are ways to avoid getting “overheated” this summer, according to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service experts.

If finding employees to fill positions wasn’t hard enough, finding available and affordable housing has encouraged companies to provide housing options as part of employment.

The need for workers has the National Milk Producers Federation renewing its call for dairy farms to be given access to the H-2A Ag Guest Work Visa Program.

House Bill 4002, which will phase out Oregon’s agricultural overtime pay exemption, has been officially signed by their governor. Oregon farmers will be required to pay workers time and a half after 55 hours in 2023.

A COVID-era policy is about to expire, changing the requirements for employers verifying the identity of their workers.

Like many dairies, Desperado Dairy and Du Brook Dairy had a difficult time retaining dependable workers. That changed in 2018, when the dairy teamed up with the Florence West Prison to help fill the vacant positions.

Increased regulation and the search for better work-life balance are two factors leading to a shortage of truck drivers in the U.S. Walmart is now increasing the starting salary for drivers to try to attract new people.

Agriculture is a dangerous business, and dairy is no exception. Knowing the high rate of both injuries and fatalities in agricultural operations, steps to make your dairy workplace safer is essential.

Don’t let your farm be just another place to work. Instead, take time to create a positive experience and craft a wow culture for your employees.

Data from the past five years shows that finding hourly/non-exempt staff is notoriously challenging. AgCareers.com's recent Agribusiness HR Review illustrates this difficulty only intensified in 2021.

“Nearly every working manager is more competent and comfortable doing tasks,” says Bob Milligan with Dairy Strategies. “That makes it easy to avoid the people side. It is rational but not effective.”

There may never be a more important time to focus on the relationships with your employees.

Defining roles keep workers from stepping on each other’s toes.

With recent changes to agriculture overtime laws out east, all eyes have now turned west. Oregon farmers learned the outcome of House Bill 4002, ending the state’s agricultural exemption from higher overtime wages.