C4—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 28,1983 Labor paradox There seems to be a paradox in the farm labor market farmers who say they can’t find good help while there are at the same time good men who say they would like to work on farms. Perhaps there are many reasons for this. One being the wage rate. Farmers feel they can’t pay a man what he could earn on a city job so they’re left to pick from the unemployed, the elderly and disabled, and a few qualified men who just won’t leave rural America. For the most part, farm em ployers are dissatisfied with the help they attract and are unwilling or unable to pay more for better help. A fanner often must offer a man a wage almost equal to his own earnings even then he may not take the job. Listen to a few potential hired men talk and you see there is more than money keeping them off the farm. And here we’re talking about the one farmer/one hired man operation. In many instances, farmers prove to be very difficult employers. Either they aren’t used to having hired help and don’t know how to use it or they’ve been stung by a bad worker and want to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Can’t measure up It stands to reason that the average farmer is probably not the best employer. He’s a sort of “one man band” who does everything around the farm. No one else can HARMAN TRIDENT BOILERS THE ULTIMATE IN WOOD/COAL BOILERS. FURNACES & FREE STANDING STOVES (Available to plumbers at wholesale price) CHESTER B. NOLI 30 S. Hershey Ave. (Bareville) Leola, Pa Phone (717) 656-6898 Hours: Mon. & lues, by Appointment Wed., Thurs., Fri. 10 to 8; Sat. 10 to 4 Farm Talk Jerry Webb Delaware Extension do as much work, fix as many things or operate expensive machines as carefully. Few hired workers measure up regardless of pay rate to the owner in skill, hustle, dedication, and farm savvy. Take the $7-an-hour factory worker and put him on a farm and odds are he’ll not work out. On his job, he’s expected to do one thing. He can be trained in a day or two, he makes very few decisions, is protected from abuse by union rules, isn’t asked to work in rain or bitter cold and doesn’t have to worry about emergencies such as loose livestock, a broken irrigation pump, or a hay baler that won’t tie. The factory worker is supported by a battery of experts who fix things that are broken, soothe his jangled nerves when he gets upset and keep his simple job running smoothly. Compare that with the farm worker who’s expected to know fully as much as the boss about everything on the farm. It’s not enough for the hired hand to know what he would do in every situation, he must also know what the boss would do also. If he guesses wrong, he’s in trouble. In short, to be a good hired man he has to be about as good at farming as the boss. What other career choice demands so much at the starting level? Any man who meets the demands deserves more than the usual farm worker 1. Exclusive Harman Spiral Chamber 2. 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Maybe there is no answer to the farm labor problem. Obviously, a farmer can’t pay more than he earns to a hired man. Nor should he be expected to provide him with a better home than his own. If the employer is scraping to make ends meet, as so many farmers are, it’s bound to be hard on the hired help. And maybe farmers in this situation should not expect to be employers. On the other hand, the farmer who has a fairly large operation and is making money should be able to get the help he needs. I’m i convinced that workers are there if farmers can provide the financial base and a reasonable future. A lot of city folk with usable farm skills would still much rather live and work in the country. Chemgro Customer and He Will Tell You • Professional Staff & well maintained equipment • Quality & Service You Can Depend On Why Not Find Out CHEM ?£Sr ,ZER For Yourself ond Colli East p«eS»irg BPA 8 PA 17520 Phone (717) 569-3296 But this is neither necessary nor desirable, says Delaware Ex tension family living agent Pat Wilson. Real human beings cannot always be cool, calm, thoughtful and all-knowing. A lot of Children need to know that their parents are individuals with feelings, needs, and aspirations,— not superhuman robots. It doesn’t hurt them to leam that their two parents sometimes have two different ways of handling a problem. Nor is it the of the world when children occasionally see their parents express anger. This can be a learning experience. Children, too, experience angry feelings, and many children find these feelings frightening. But by watching parents express their true emotions, children leam how to manage their own. 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A worthwhile gift parents can give their children, Wilson says, is an occasional word of heartfelt praise. Parents have done their job well when their children are deeply and quietly glad to be exactly who they are. Zip State
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