Farm Journal recently conducted a study that encompassed all sectors of agriculture.
What they found was farmers are paying more in wages than at any point in history.
They’re more efficient in using their available labor. However, they’re still frustrated.
The survey of more than 2,100 farmers included almost 200 dairy farmers.
Of the total producers, 87 percent say they pay more in wages than they did five years ago.
While 58 percent of the employers have offered higher wages to attract labor, few can and do offer benefits.
Just 20 percent of the farmers offer health insurance. Almost 45 percent offer their employees paid time off.
A handful of the dairy farmers in the survey says they milk their cows with robotics.
But, the majority of the dairy farmers say milking help is the hardest position to both fill and retain employees.
Employers’ biggest frustrations are those who show up late, don’t show up at all, or don’t follow protocols in place.
They say the best employees have a sense of ownership, which is easier to say than to find.