Can you give us some examples, Glenn, of ways to accomplish these things? A dairyman with a good working relationship with his employee might try to develop the employee’s knowledge of the cattle he works with. He might invite his herdsman to cattle shows and sales and other dairy events. In this way he lets his herdsman share in the glory of meetmg other dairy leaders. By praising him in front of others m the industry (This is the guy who’s doing a good job for me at home) he gives his employee a feeling of pride m his work. Putting himself m his To Heat a BIG Building You Heed an ESHLAND* ESHLAND HIGH CAPACITY COMMERCIAL AL-WOOD BOILERS & HOTAIR FURNACES Whether you need to heat a Maintenance Shop, Farrowing Barn, Greenhouse, Large Farm House, or Retail Store... ESHLAND has a Coal-Wood Boiler or Hot Air Furnace to meet your needs. ESHLAND Manufactures a complete line of Residential Boilers, and Furnaces too as well as Free-standing Stoves and Fireplace Inserts FOR MORE INFORMATION, WRITE OR CALL TODAY! ESHLAND ENTERPR, ,SI S P.O. BOX 23 GREENCASTLE, PA. 17225 Pa. 1-800-632 1896 U.S.A. 1-800-233 1993 Fringe Benefits (Continued from Page B 4) ...a good man well paid doing a good job can be very inexpensive,.. employee’s shoes might mean more attention to the employee’s comfort. Milking for 3-4 hours straight is tiring. They’ve shown m research that performance is much better with breaks on long tiring repetitive jobs. Breaks are well worth the down time when the result is a more responsive manager. It might mean also providing a softer standing surface instead of the con crete, or enough heat to be comfortable, or even an air conditioner. It could also mean a shower to cool off m. Any of these things may cost the farmer more initially but it could cost him more not to do these things in terms of poor performance. Milking cows is a long day, it’s the nature of the work itself. In addition, farm life goes on 24 hours a day. The crops and the cows can’t shut down on weekends or at 8 hour intervals. In a two-man operation, it might be possible to alter nate every other weekend off. In a good size operation with a number of people working with the herd, it might be advantageous to have a relief milker who takes up the slack when someone needs off. What about the com pensation itself, let’s discuss wages and benefits here, Glenn, and give our readers some idea of the direction they can shoot for. Pat, I think dairymen must give thought to the area of fringe benefits. While most dairymen offer their employees some fringe benefits including such things as a house, utilities paid for, milk, meat, gasoline, and a vegetable garden, the employees sometimes forget the value of these things. Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 5,1980—85 When a herdsman com pares his hours with those of a factory worker, the dif ferent schedule may be hard to accept. And when he compares his pay to that of a factory worker whose paycheck shows far fewer deductions, he may forget the fringe benefits he’s given. A laborer needs to be reminded that the only tax he’s paying is on his take home pay, not on the gross value of everything he receives. Farmers would benefit by handing out ...a man underpaid doing an unsatisfactory job can be much more costly• monthly statements with the gross salary and total value of all benefits deducted, ending up with their net take home pay. In addition, some dairymen recognize the people aspect of then em ployee management by providing unexpected days off when work is slack. This makes it easier for the employee to accept the overtime when it comes. In some instances where the employee is required for milking time but not in the middle of the day, farmers allow the employee the opportunity for a partune job if it does not conflict. Cut canes after berry harvest NORRISTOWN - It will soon be time to prune out all old canes which have borne fruit on the bramble-red, black, purple raspberries, blackberries and dewberries, reminds Joseph H. Way, Montgomery County Agent. Immediately after har vest, cut out all canes which produced a crop this season so that new growth which will produce next year’s crop will be stimulated and to remove possible disease sources. Burning is the most effective method of destroying these canes, but & BOYD'S & SSS BRAND 99 SORGHUM- & SUDAN GRASS 99 gg $9 ££ Retail $ 14*95 50 LB. BAG & 99 ★ For Dealer Price - Call ★ yy WHOLESALE or RETAIL BOYD’S SEED CENTER & 306 lona Rd, Lebanon, Pa. 17042 Phone 717-272-8943 W 9RHHBBH#' And some dairy farmers give employees’ children calves for 4-H and FFA work. In large operations, the addition of something like a swimming pool would be a nice fringe benefit for an employee. For guides on wages, the dairyman can compare the rates for various levels of skilled workers in his area or check state summaries on annual farm wages. These summaries should be used as a guide. In my experience they tend to be on the low side and probably would not pay a good worker what he’s worth. For help on setting up partnerships or in dealing with farm labor, the dairyman might want to obtain copies of the f ollowmg circulars from his extension office: Circular 526 Father and Son Part nerships; Circular 528 Partnership Agreements for Farmers; or Special Cir cular 88 Solving Your Farm Labor Problems. I think that it might be practical, Pat to interview some farmers about their employee practices. Good pomt, Glenn. And that’s just what we’ll do in next week’s column. check local ordinances before setting, urges Way. Shredding by rotary mowers followed by disking or rototillmg is suggested. Immediately after pruning, the remaining bramble canes should be sprayed with a miticide and fungicide to protect new growth. wracMowmcatTm
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