The challenging times brought about by depressed milk prices have been felt by all in the dairy industry. While it may affect farm owners most directly, the results have their way of trickling down through the farm. If they haven’t already, your employees are likely to be affected by these lean times as well.

A common trend with employers is to start any new employee on a probationary basis. What does that mean? An employer specifies a set amount of time for any new hire to allow the company to evaluate that person’s abilities and if they are a good fit for the company before becoming a permanent employee.

If your farm experiences high turnover on a constant basis, it may be time for a self-evaluation to address the reasons why this is occurring. I recently took to social media and asked employees what was the top reason they left the last farm they worked for.

Obtaining and retaining employees is a forefront issue among many industries, especially for dairies. A current trend plaguing our industry is job-hopping. Many farms seem to endure constant turnover, and replacing and training new hires is costly. Although there is no cure-all for reducing turnover, there are some steps employers and managers can take to keep employees on the farm.

As the labor market in the dairy industry continues to tighten, employers are forced to become more creative in attracting employees. One option that many farmers have contemplated is offering housing. For the right farm, and the right manager, housing can be an excellent choice to put your farm above the rest. We’ve listed three pros and cons to help you decide if it’s the right decision for your farm.