What makes the difference between employees who are happy at work and those who are miserable? 

This long-standing support, stretching over 40 years with some customers, is a source of profound humility for the Bowers. Bower Chopping’s legacy is not just about harvesting crops – it’s about cultivating enduring relationships built on integrity and a shared passion for doing things the right way.

Employees are one of the largest expenses on a farm – second only to feed costs. The most startling part of this statistic is that staff care is frequently low priority and high risk.

Improved labor efficiency, employee retention and communication were among the benefits for two Pacific Northwest dairy farms that upgraded their milking parlors from the traditional herringbone and parallel models to a rotary and an automated milking system, respectively.

As the newest member of my company’s youngstock nutrition team and the most recent returning member to my family dairy, I value the efforts taken by my supervisors to identify and apply my skills and strengths effectively to get the job done.

Since their father began dairy farming in 1974 with only four cows, the Brophy brothers have grown their herd to 200 milking cows, expanded their forage acreage sixfold, overcome a barn fire in 2002, which decimated their milking herd and main facility, and most recently, sprung back from a severe disease outbreak, which resulted in the death of 42 cows over nine days.

We have seen partners and executive leadership teams mistakenly discount the importance of company culture and harm the operation’s performance. Culture is the unique way the organization lives out its purpose and values.

While the cow-side benefits of monitoring technology are significant, don’t overlook the human benefits for your employees. These advantages go beyond simple labor savings.

While it is possible to have SOPs for many important tasks on a dairy farm, there are few more important than milking parlor procedures. 

Heim’s Hillcrest Dairy in Wisconsin has created a welcoming team culture with low employee turnover. Since the farm started in 1963, it has grown from less than 100 cows to more than 800. Today, members of the second, third and fourth generations work on the dairy.