One of the biggest differences between farmers who struggle to be progressive and make changes and those who possess the agility to tackle change boils down to structure and clarity.

In this episode of the Progressive Dairy Podcast, host Kimmi Devaney visits with Kansas dairy producer Lee Holtmeier from Linn Willow Creek Dairy about their employee culture, what they do to mentor and empower employees, and how they keep employee turnover low. 

Borrowing money to pay the bills? If that’s you, you are not alone. As a dairy consultant who helps farmers increase income and efficiencies and reduce their expenses, these are the phone calls that have been coming in recently as worries loom over what’s to come in 2023.

“Onboarding" refers to the process in which new hires are integrated into the organization.

“The process of ensuring the new employee has a great start, becomes engaged and stays is called onboarding.” Onboarding is more than just the orientation and training that have traditionally been our focus for new employees.

Don’t be afraid to compensate well and provide annual, merit-based raises or bonus structures into the employee budget. Good employees are hard to come by, and keeping them will be much easier than finding them again.

Yes, employees do need training, accountability and incentives to stay on track. However, I generally find the core of most employee problems to be a lack of clear, intentional leadership.

If talk about farm culture leaves you feeling overwhelmed, take a step back and pick just one aspect of your culture to improve. Start with one small thing you can control, whether it be clarity, organization or belonging.

Some may call it a trailblazing enterprise with a strong commitment to stewardship and productivity, but if you ask owner Jerry Huth, he’ll crack a smile and say it’s more of a “4-H project run amok.”

With interest rates, inflation and input costs on the rise and milk futures trending in the opposite direction, a lot of dairy producers I talk to are asking me this question: Is it possible to be a profitable dairy farming business, despite these external pressures?