by Betty Berning
Extension Educator
One of the top issues I hear about from farmers is labor management. Most people aren’t farmers because they wanted to manage employees. Most farmers want to FARM. As farms grow, though, more help (and management!) is required. Enter employees. For an operation to be successful as it grows, owners must accept that they will need to spend more time on management activities, like human resources.
I hear about human resource struggles- even from farmers that have embraced their role as “farm manager”. It is hard to find good employees and it is hard to retain them. The agricultural industry pays less than other comparable industries. Minnesota mean hourly wage data from May 2015 indicates farmworkers on farms with animals were paid $12.58/hour. Compare that to a construction laborers’ mean hourly wage of $17.57/hour during that same time. That’s a difference of almost $5/hour. In addition, farm work is physically demanding and can be dirty. …
Extension Educator
One of the top issues I hear about from farmers is labor management. Most people aren’t farmers because they wanted to manage employees. Most farmers want to FARM. As farms grow, though, more help (and management!) is required. Enter employees. For an operation to be successful as it grows, owners must accept that they will need to spend more time on management activities, like human resources.
I hear about human resource struggles- even from farmers that have embraced their role as “farm manager”. It is hard to find good employees and it is hard to retain them. The agricultural industry pays less than other comparable industries. Minnesota mean hourly wage data from May 2015 indicates farmworkers on farms with animals were paid $12.58/hour. Compare that to a construction laborers’ mean hourly wage of $17.57/hour during that same time. That’s a difference of almost $5/hour. In addition, farm work is physically demanding and can be dirty. …