' '( '* t » IJ f I/ I I *• 1 1 f » \ , t r \ The Dairy Worker's Image There’s a lot that can be done to improve the mental picture of dairy work and it could provide dividends to dairy operators in their search for good workers. Needed: better labor management on dairy farms. That’s one of the indications from interviews with nearly 200 dairy farm workers and operators in New York State, the Nation’s third largest milk producer. The interviews were part of a USDA study into job images in dairy farming-a study brought about by farmers’ complaints that they are having increasing trouble finding good dairy workers. “We’re on the threshold of an era when we have to pay at-' tention to the fact that farmers are having to compete with in dustry for workers,” comments the rural sociologist who headed up the study. “In the Northeast, the reser voir of farm-raised people is declining. Manufacturing is dispersed so that everyone is able, to commute to a non-farm job. When it comes to attracting and keeping employees, dairy work had two big assets that the employees didn’t believe they’d find in comparable nonfarm work: a sense of involvement in their jobs and a feeling that their work was interesting. In fact, 85 percent said they’d pick the same career all-over again. Lancaster farming, Saturday, September 15,1973—1? On the other hand, both em ployers and employees on dairy farms agreed cash pay was lower, hours longer, and vacations shorter than for comparable nonfarm jobs. The “comparable jobs” they cited included mechanic, construction worke?; and truck driver. Answers differ. But while employers felt shorter hours, higher pay, and more fringe benefits were the best workers, employees concentrated on items that involved better labor management, an answer that employers put forth on their list. Very few of the workers in terviewed had any specific un derstanding with their employers on the way the’d get paid, on pay raises, on what work they were to do, on fringe benefits, sick leave, incentive plans, and bonuses. Operators tended not to like to supervise employees ... and tended not to pay much attention to it, which led to misun derstandings and conflicts among employees and between the employee and employer. Although agriculture is generally characterized by a lack of formal structure in the work force, perhaps nowhere is this more evident than in this study of medium and large dairy farms in New York State. -a There were no written con tractual agreements between employers and employees, and oral agreements were extremely varied in content. Job titles and job content were not standarized. Part of the problem. This lack of structure was responsible for a number of the problems plaguing dairy employers, the study reported. For instance, while most of the operators interviewed had fewer than three employees, and consequently should have little personnel turmoil, more than half said they’d had such problems as jealousy among workers over assignments or pay Cargill CIS Controlled Release helps you obtain all of these benefits: ■ Extra safety from urea toxicity ■ Nitrogen release that resembles natural protein more than a conventional urea-based liquid supplement ft Less labor than most dry supplements ■ Low cost per ton of supplement ■ Uniform grazing efficient use of available roughage Cattle can help themselves as needed There’s no bunching up and waiting for cubes with resultant lost grazing and over-grazing within a limited area ■ Good conception rates and big calf crops Cargill CLS Controlled Release makes it easy to provide the supplemental nitrogen, vitamins and minerals that help in getting cows bred on schedule, keeping calves evenly bunched ■ Uniform nutrition It's unlike range cube feeding where ‘boss’ animals take charge Once aggres sive animals get enough liquid supplement they leave the hckwhedl feeders Then, even tail enders get a fair chance ° ELMER SHREINER “SUiSS T-A GOOD'S FEED MILL Td™s R.D.I, New Providence, Pa. Myerslown. Pa. 17067 Phone 717-786-2500 Phone 717-866-5689 Nutrena Feeds SERVICE YOU CAN RELY ON differentials, attempts of one to boss another, personality con flicts, and conflicts among wives and families of workers. Dairy farm operators said they felt less equipped to handle these problems than any of the others they faced as farm operators or as members of their com munities. Another finding was that farmers tended to regard workers as part of the family or as neighbors and to look after them, helping them in emergencies-an attitude that modern worke r s tended to resent, considering it paternalistic. So where does a farmer turn for guidance on better management practices? The study conceded that most successful models for labor organization and management are really set up for large companies. Farms slighted. “The in vestigation of small firms in commerce and industry or farms with small numbers of hired workers in agriculture has been slighted,” the sociologist com mented in the study. However, a similar study of California dairy farms shows that greater reliance on stan dards and organization have shown some signs of success there. A typical California dairy farm rarely involves any more workers than those in New York, but in Southern California, written contracts between em ployers and employee unions are the rule. Spell it out. These contracts specify wage rates based on a complex formula allowing for variations in number of cows milked, type of barn, or milking equipment. Job titles are specific, and some of the responsibility of labor supply management is assumed by the unions. (Continued On Page 18)
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