Dairy Farming

[J and L]

Last year we selected a new site about 1 mile from the existing dairy on land already owned. We constructed one of the freestall barns involved and curently use that to house prefresh and dry cows. This allowed us to use all stalls at home for lactating cows. It is our intent to build the parlor, hold pen, and enough additional housing to allow for the movement of the entire herd plus 75 cows that our sons wants to put into the operation.
Jerry

 

[J and L]

Barron County
How does your employer plan to acomplish this growth?

 

[born2run]

Through a bottling plant which is being built this summer. They use no BST, and this is their biggest marketing tool. How about you? With the milk prices looking gloomy how soon do you hope to accomplish your desired goal?

 

[rancherswife]

We have Longhorns and I have never really been around a dairy until we took a trip to Wisconsin a couple of years back.
Your state is sooo pretty. We went to an old dairy that my husband's Grandfather worked on most of his life. It was the nicest property I had ever seen. No cows there anymore but what a bunch of history there was there! Farhnwald Farms was the name of the dairy and we have some old pictures from there in it's heyday. What a beautiful place!!

 

[J and L]

Barron co.
Good Question! Our plans are pretty well in place for mid summer construction but the soft milk price really has us looking at how it will cash flow in the short term. Also the price for those extra 75 cows! We will postpone if we need to but will have to sell some animals to do that. With construction costs rising rapidly and the continued small intrest rate increases, I would be good to get locked into the progect.

 

[J and L]

Rancherswife
Thanks, We think it is nice here too, But the coooold! What part of WI were you in?

 

[born2run]

What size of parlor are you currently using? The fluid milk prices are the big reason why my boss wants to build the bottling plant. I imagine they've put a lot of thought into it, enough to know with certainty that it'll work. Current facility is a double 12 all-exit herringbone (DeLaval/Blue Diamond). Expandable to a double 16. Freestall barn is 400 cows, the new one will be 600, plus a hospital barn as well.

 

[rancherswife]

My Husband's family is from OshKosh. I have only been there in the summer. We live in California in the desert. I like the heat!!!

 

[J and L]

Currently milking in a double 6 built 11 years ago along with 275 frestalls. So youse it is a tight fit right know. the knew one will be a germania double 12 expandable to 16 with a direct load to tankers. Do you have a preference for a harringbone over parallel?
Jerry

 

[born2run]

I came from a flat barn to this herringbone, so I've never had the "privelege" of working in a parallel. I believe that's what Milkmaid works in so maybe she can give you some more information from that angle. I love this herringbone because of it's all exit system. I work with a partner, but conceivably the parlor should be able to be operated by one person. I've milked 100 cows/hour back in my early days there when I was young (stupid) and energetic. Now we try to keep it at 76-80/hour. Currently at 407, which takes us 5 hrs. 15 min. to milk on a regular shift. I can see that you would have a tight fit right now, and why your anxious to get into a bigger facility. If I understand right isn't a paralell supposed to have faster exit times and lest cost as far as actual construction? How many employees (if any) do you currently have? I imagine you run 3x a day?

 

[J and L]

You are correct, parellel requires a shorter building therefore cheaper to build. We made our choice mostly because large, older cows seem to have an issue with the right angle corners. We have a pretty low cull rate and believe that it is important to build a cow friendly parlor, they pay the bills. We currently have 7 full time and 2-3 part time people not counting linda and me. With dry and pre at another location, labor is a killer right now. We do raise crops and our hiefers.
Jerry

 

[born2run]

Nine employees where I work, that includes the herd manager and the chap who trims feet. Three are p/t. Boss and his wife pretty well stay out of the day to day operation of the lactating cows, leaving getting the cows bred back, even rationing to the herd manager. They send some of the calves out to growers, and raise some on their own. Dry cows, fresh cows the wife takes care of, the son feeds.

Nice, people friendly environment there. The parlor is spacious and well lit, equipment is state-of-the-art. I work third shift with no direct supervision, and have been there for over 2 1/2 years.

Jerry...sure you've probably seen DeLaval's "Contour", but here's the parlor design I work in.

 

[J and L]

Looks and sounds like you have a great job. It is refreshing to talk to someone that has good things to say about thier employer! Our help is largly Hispanic and does an excelent job for us. As where you work, linda and I have only limited involvment in the day to day operations. Soooooooooo, as a VALUED employee, what, along with good working conditions do you feel keep you satisfied in your work.
Jerry

 

[bigbull338]

i for 1 am a retired dairyman.an your right older cows wont adjust to a parralll barn.an if your wanting to go to 1000 cows max you will need a double 16 to double 20 harring bone barn.wich will put your cow thoughput at 160 to 200 cows an hr.so a 5 to 7hr milking shift.wich means the barn will run 12 to 18hrs a day.an youll want to consider using the db 6 barn for a hospital/fresh cow milking area.thus reducing the chancesof milking a treated cow into the milk tank.

 

[born2run]

Jerry...

They do value me, and the pay reflects that. :) But in reality that isn't really what keeps me there. I've had other opportunities to manage and have turned them down. I'd say the lack of supervision is key, as well as an excellent relationship with the herd manager. They trust me, and rarely, if ever, question what I do.

If I could change one thing it'd probably be the relationship with the boss. I'd be all for monthly meetings, so that the herd manager and boss could keep us all up-to-date on what is happening, plus give us the opportunity to voice our concerns or ask questions. Believe me, I have went through low times in the recent past that had me seriously consider quitting. This came from the general feeling that I was working my tail off and no one cared or noticed. Both times I had a talk with the herd manager who gave me an attitude adjustment. ;-) Once the boss came there when he was there talking to me, and asked what the problem was? Herd manager told him I felt unappreciated. When the boss told his wife this (who does payroll) she responded with..."You get paid, what else do you want?!?" They just don't get it! How much do you interact with your employees? I've heard of dairies offering challenges to each shift..."Most milk per pen, cleanest filter, etc." Do you do this?

The herd manager told me to try to keep my shifts challenging, focusing on getting a spotless filter or all units balanced. This plays in a lot how rewarding I find my job to be. I also get the benefit of being able to treat, then seeing those cows respond to that. It's great to be able to get the perspective from an employer. How do YOU go about keeping everyone happy and doing a good job? I am there 6 days a week/ minimum of 48 hours. I'd appreciate at least a "good job" now and then from the person who signs my checks.

To their credit they sent me to a day long seminar along with the herd manager and two other employees. I came out of there feeling like I was actually a key player in something important.

 

[J and L]

Born2Run
Very interesting subject for sure. First a little backround:Linda and I built the current facility expanding cow numbers from 48 with no help, to 200 and needing help. At that time, looking back, we were somewhat unprepared in the art of hiring help. 11 years and several......... employees later I can say that we have learned a LOT.

I feel strongly that keeping help starts with hireing the correct people! Some of those first folks were good and we just didn`t know how to bring that out in them while others never would have made it in the door today. As I sit here thinking I can`t help but chuckle to myself about all the past employees, why they left, and what part they and we played in that decision. I guess the point here is this: Today, with excelent help in place it is our basic responsibility to ensure that every new hire has proper knowlege to do their job, a good work ethic, and most importantly, integrity. One rotten apple WILL spoil the whole bushel.

With that out of the way, how do we keep people happy? While pay has been proven time and time again to not be the most important thing to an employee, as you have said, but does underlie all else and absolutly must be at a respectable level. Not just as it compares to wages in the area but also from the standpoint of what would it take to get me to do that job? and can this person possibly live their reasonalbe lifestyle on the wage? So for us, we don`t spend much time worrying about wether we pay mor or less than our neighbor but when we do look at that, we find that we are usually paying as much or more.

We do have a bonus program for the milking staff that pays on a per shift worked basis. The amount of that bonus is based on quality and volume for the month and is shared equally per shift worked. This has went well and we like it because it tends to not only keep each person doing a good job but gives them a reason for helping their co-workers do a good job also. We also like to give special bonuses that are tied to a specific good job because we can assosiate it with that good job as opposed to a regular Christmas bonus for example.

I belive that keeping people challenged and involved is huge. As with your boss, we send people to events that will help them be able to take ownership of solutions and improvements within their department. We aticipate boredom or a sence of being overwhelmed and make changes. It is important to "let people do their job". Keeping in mind that we hired the right person, we try not to look over their shoulder but rather make sure that they know we are available as a resource. I don`t have time to micromanage their time anyway. We try hard to, at a minnamum, say hi to everyone on a daily basis and show some intrest in their life outside the farm. And of course if there is a problem we will handle it in a descrete manner.

Now in defence of the Boss. I personally know that the owner/boss can have bad days or weeks just like employees and may........ on ocasion, "not get it right". While I don`t know the details surrounding the mentioned comments, I applaud you for getting past them! And that is were that employee integrety comes in that I mentioned earlyer.

Well this is a big subject and I am sure that I missed some stuff. Any other questions, feel free to ask.

Jerry

 

[born2run]

Before I leave to start the week again: :)

"One rotten apple will spoil the entire bushel." Truer words were never spoken, and I am glad you have grasped that concept. We have never really had a better crew than we do now, but the one exception is the boss' daughter. She works 2nd shift, and is allowed to a) pull no-shows b) not show up on time c) not follow proper prepping procedures d) bad handling of cows, i.e. "running". This is an extreme source of frustration to everyone else involved there, because all of the above mentioned would have gotten any of the rest of us fired. Not only that, I at least feels like it undercuts the job I am trying so very hard to do perfectly. The herd manager has talked to the boss, so they are very aware of what is going on. Not only that, there is a surveillance camera in the parlor with a direct link to the house. The boss is deliberately ignorant to this problem.

That aside, we get monthly SCC bonuses if it stays below 200,000. This encourages proper pre-stripping and mastitis detection. With the exception of me, "normal" employees do not have clearance to treat at will, but can call the herd manager if they come upon a cow in question.

How high of a turnover do you have now? I've been there 2 1/2 (as previously stated), but everyone else there is lucky to average a year. Herd manager is obviously a different story.

I get paid right below the herd manager currently, and I admit that definitely does play into my positive attitude and my willingness to overlook the areas I have problems with.

I applaud you for making an effort to look in on your employees. I'm sure they appreciate that more then you know. :) I'm lucky to see the boss once a month.

Don't worry...I'll come up with more questions for you. :) Just have to run now.

 

[J and L]

Wow you type fast!
Our herdsperson has been with us for about 7 years, Our feeder about 2, One fulltime milker about 2, another about 3. We have two gals through Global Cow that have been here only a couple of months and will be here one year total. One part time field crew person 11 years. One part time milker for 7 years. We have stopped hiring high school kids part time due to lack of committment.

Our kids have always worked for us as thier time has allowed and it has at times been difficult. I don`t like to make excuses but I think the owner/boss can easily get caught between a rock and a hard place on this one! I know at times our employees have felt much the way you feel on this. In our case I am talking about ages form Jr. high -Graduation. At times we were just honest with people, explaining that our children were young people learning to be adults in an adult work environment. Again not to make excuses. Most of the time I would say we were harded on them than the others. I think our oldest got fired everyother week there for a while! Today our kids are older. Our middle is in nursing school and still picks up a shift if she has time. Our youngest leaves for college in April and our oldest has just returned from school last year and runs the feed department and much of the cropping. He plans on adding 75 cows to the expansion and has no commitment problems these days. I would expect this issue is as frustrating for the owner as it is for you, just may not know how to handle it properly.

Jerry

 

[milkmaid]

Hi Jerry- I know I said 'welcome' earlier, but I'll step in and introduce myself to you now. Formally known as "milkmaid" here. ;-) I work in a double 6 herringbone; we're milking much less than you folks - run about 80 milking cows and 15 drys at the moment. Boss raises both his crops and calves. I've been here for almost 2 years now (will be 2 in April) and really enjoying it. :) (I suspect Boss thinks I'm slightly crazy for liking it so much, but he generally keeps that to himself, other than the occasional good-natured comment. LOL.)

On the side, I run a small "herd" of my own; a few nurse cows and calves of varying ages. All of the ones I have right now are ones that I've acquired from the dairy where I work. Boss gives me first chance at all the bull calves and I take a significant portion of my pay in calves. Occasionally I'll get lucky and get a cow or heifer that just needs some TLC to get her back on track. :)

You sound like you have a good sound philosophy about picking and keeping employees. I was reading an article recently about a dairyman who owned two 1,000 cow dairies, and his philosophy was "treat your employees well, and they will be loyal to the farm". I'd sure say that's true, speaking from positive experience. He had some other comments along those lines such as having an open-door policy for any problems and offering after-school jobs to all his employees kids during the school year, and "I expect a lot from my employees but I also treat them with respect. Their happiness and families come first."

I find it interesting as well to hear the employer's side of things and their views and philosophies. Feel free to share anytime. I do my best, and boss is always straight forward about what he expects - which, btw, is something I really appreciate. I don't like guessing games. LOL.

 

[J and L]

HI
One of the decisions we made early on was to give employees kids first chance at part time work when needed. One of our joys in farming has been being able to work with our kids and we believe that it benefits the kids greatly. We also encourage employees to find balance in their lives and working with their kids helped them do that.

One woman milked for us parttime for 11 years until she injured her back at her full time job. Each of her three kids milked with and were trained by her. One is now a college student and has been on payroll for 7 years-- he comes back weekends and we clear the schedule to give him the shifts he needs to make the trip worth while.(3.5 hours each way)The other employees love this as time off on weekends is valued here. The second milked here for 4 years. The third had transportation issues after mom had to quit.
We brought a feeder's son in as a milker/fieldhand. He worked here two years in high school.
Allowing their kids to come helped create tolerance for ours.
We considered all as being "adults in training" and all looked out for each others' kids. If there were issues the parents might talk to us but the kids had to come to us before anything was changed. We kept this a safe space for the "young adults" to learn how to manuver in an adult setting. The parents helped frame and clarify the issues so their kids had a view of what and how to talk to an employer. Watching them mature in their business dealings was great.
Our Hispanic workers have also brought in family-- we have had 3 brothers and the father from one family, they brought in a friend, and there is another brother that will come in June.The downside of having a close crew is the off time scheduling. We feel it is a huge compliment to have employees think enough of us and their jobs to bring others in. Can't say enough good things about this current crew--they know the why's and how's of our proceedures and that every contact with a cow effects her production-- so if they see a problem they come to me and sometimes they will also say "You don't want to hire him....." if they know an applicant. Our bonus program helps. Keeps all focused on quantity as well as quality.
L