Tips on lining up local help ?

[Stocker Steve]

- Hired a local guy in his 20's last spring. Paid top local rate. He worked really hard, but only came back once after the first paycheck. He had just made a down payment on a used Harley and had a chubby blonde riding bitch. Looked like he had more fun last summer than I did.
- Tried to ID a couple younger neighborhood men to help out this year. Thought they might still be afraid of big bikes and easy blondes. Started with the Fathers, and got referred a couple times. Ended up with a strapping 15 year old who claimed to be "handy". I asked him to start with the lawn, and then we would work up to bigger field equipment. He told me he would not walk behind a stink'in (32" self propelled) lawn mower. His Father called up and apologized...
- So I am starting over. Any tips?

 

[J&D Cattle]

That sounds just about like the results I would expect to get here. I don't want to turn this into a parenting debate but the majority of the younger kids won't work. We have a heck of a time finding a few people to haul square bales.

Do you know any other farmers who have kids? Any contractor friends with kids? We have asked the local High School coaches for tips before with some results. Good luck.

 

[M5farm]

Ask around and find a kid that is fixing to turn 16 and needs to buy a ride after summer. They may have to be taught but will work hard to earn the money to buy themselves a car. The ones that have everything handed to them do not think they have to work to get anything. Check the local church youth group and football coaches as someone suggested.

 

[dun]

Talk to your local FFA leader. They should be on top of what kids work and who may need a job

 

[Bigfoot]

I run the numbers on it all the time, but I can;t make it work. I would like an h-2a worker. I have thought about diversifying, by adding a chicken house. It seems silly to lay out that kind of capitol to have some help when you need it.

 

[millstreaminn]

I used to pay $10.00 an hour cash for hay help. You could get a few but only about 1/2 would show up after first payday. Set myself up so that I can do everything on my hobby farm myself now. If I don't show up to bale my hay, something serious happened to me.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Steve, we have better luck finding older guys to help out on the farm. Granted they can't go as fast as the younger guys but they are more reliable and what they lack in strength and stamina they more than make up for in knowledge and know how.

My :2cents:

 

[skyhightree1]

Talk to your local FFA leader. They should be on top of what kids work and who may need a job

:nod: We have a agricultural school here and I may start allowing the kids to come here and work for free to get on the job training. It would be something you may want to check into.

 

[Limomike]

Yep, most of my summer help comes from local boys who are in the AG programs, like FFA, or ones that do rodeos, or their parents have a ranch or farm.
ONly thing with those rodeo boys, is they sometimes need Friday's off and sometimes are dragging azz due to being up so late at the rodeos. But I can handle that, as long as they work when it needs to be done.

 

[sim.-ang.king]

You need some that aren't smart enough to know it's work. Do kind of a Tom Sawyer number on them. :lol:

 

[Bigfoot]

I've been gone to a conference all week, this was my first full day home. We've rodeod the last 5 Saturdays in a row. It suffices to say, that I am behind. I got two 14 year old boys to come help me today. I was in hay, and some weed eating, mowing, and light fencing just had to be done. One boy made it 90 minutes, and said it was just too hot. The other boy would work 5 minutes, and sit for 5 minutes. He made it 10 hours. He told me he wouldn't be back. Just as well. My 9 year old son pulled 13 hours today raking, tedding, and pretty much re weed eated what little the two other clowns did today. Let me add, it felt like 80 degrees with a light breeze all day. I am flabbergasted. When the boy that worked 10 hours mother came to pick him, she joked is Saturday time and a half. I wanted to tell her he just worked half the time.

 

[Craig Miller]

After my lawn mower quit last year i decided to hire it for the rest of the year. I ended up hiring three diffrent kids. They set the price. None mowed it more than two times. Ended up paying my cousin who is 13. His daddy did moat of the mowing.

Sky, good luck getting a kid to work for free. You better be paying 30$ bucks a hour cash if you want a kid to work for you. And you wont get an honest day out of that. As for hiring a kid that needs a ride... lets be honest here. Nobody makes their kids by their own cars nowdays

 

[HDRider]

After my lawn mower quit last year i decided to hire it for the rest of the year. I ended up hiring three diffrent kids. They set the price. None mowed it more than two times. Ended up paying my cousin who is 13. His daddy did moat of the mowing.

Sky, good luck getting a kid to work for free. You better be paying 30$ bucks a hour cash if you want a kid to work for you. And you wont get an honest day out of that. As for hiring a kid that needs a ride... lets be honest here. Nobody makes their kids by their own cars nowdays

Some do..

 

[ibetyamissedme]

Find yourself some Mexicans, they are around here in the south part of the state. They are very hard workers and don't expect CEO pay. You can either overpay lazy white people or under pay hard working migrants.

 

[sidney411]

Check with the guys in the back of your local sale barn. A lot of times they are only part-timers there and hire out to do odd jobs elsewhere.

 

[Bigfoot]

Update-------The boy that worked a few minutes, and rested a few minutes came back today. His mother and father both brought him. Have him the business, and he has been excellent help all day. We've been stretching barbed wire. He's welcome back any time.

 

[TexasBred]

Find yourself some Mexicans, they are around here in the south part of the state. They are very hard workers and don't expect CEO pay. You can either overpay lazy white people or under pay hard working migrants.

Amazing how many have their own little companies down here. No idea what they charge but they hit the ground running and don't stop until finished and the ones I've seen work do excellent work. Betcha the price is good as well.

 

[Doc Winters]

Im 28y/o male who just got out of the us navy after 7yrs.(honorable discharge) I live in the Stephenville area and im willimg to help anyone out from some extra cash.