Finding Good Farm
Employees
As farms expand and diversify,
employees become an integral part
of the operation. Unfortunately,
most of us farmers never had any
classes on how to find and hire a
good employee. However, Dr.
Bemie Erven, professor and exten
sion specialist in the Department
of Agricultural Economics at
Ohio State University, and one of
the nation’s leaders in farm human
resources, offered some insights at
the 1998 Farm Business Financial
Management School.
We all know finding good
workers is not negotiable. Have
you ever seen a business, any
business, succeed while its people
failed? Without good employees,
a business will never reach its
peak business goals.
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But luckily, there are several
ways to find good employees.
The first is to look within your
business. • Do you have someone,
currently, that you could give
more responsibility to build a bet
ter employee? This may require
some additional training, but the
end result could be a very produc
tive person. Promoting from
within is a common business
practice that builds solid, loyal
employees.
The second method in finding
good employees is hiring some
one from the general labor pool.
Note that I did not say the farm
labor pool. People from the gen
eral labor pool can be tremendous
employees, but remember that
there will be more training in
volved.
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Also, when advertising for
your farm labor position be aware
of the language and content of the
advertisement. Rather than,
“Farm Laborer Needed. Call 555-
7272” as your business advertise
ment; try something like “Are
you looking for work in the out
doors? Do you like animals?
Would you like working with
your hands for a feeling of accom
plishment? We may have a posi
tion for you! Flexible hours. Free
training included. Call 555-7272
to find out more exciting details.”
Creativity in advertising can bring
successful people to your farm.
Remember if you wouldn’t apply
for the job, chances are, neither
will good employees.
When preparing to hire new
employees, Dr. Erven offers the
following checklist for filling a
position:
Determine your labor and man
agement needs (Based on your
business plan).
Develop a current job descrip
tion.
Build a pool of applicants
(Remember to be creative in your
advertisement).
Review applications and select
those to be interviewed.
Interview (Be prepared. Don’t
lose a good employee because you
conducted a poor interview).
Check references (Look for at-
Com rootworm
European com borer
1-800-433-5080 • ag.fmc.com
tendance history, job performance,
etc.).
Make A Selection,
Hire
Be careful you don’t rush into
a decision, and hire employees
when you don’t have time to train
them. Instead, develop a timeline
that provides a timely response to
your applicants and also fits into
your business schedule. You’ll
both be better off. Many times
farmers will hire the first person
that can successfully find their
farm and ring the doorbell.
Over the next few months we
will be discussing strategies for
building your own professional
team and board of directors. Dif
ferent components of these strate
gies include accountants, attor
neys, bankers, technical support,
financial planners, ag salespeople,
and others. These are all people
,with a vested interest in your suc
cess, and creating an environment
that allows them to work together
can be very successful for your
operation.
Feel free to send your com
ments and ideas to Jim Shirk at
the Chamber by email, HYPER
LINK mailto:jshirk@lcci.com or
call him at (717) 397-3531.
estdo
Lancaster Finning, Saturday, March 14,1M8-A33
Ag Issues
Forum
Meetings
LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.)
In 1989, a group of agricultur
ists founded the Ag Issues Forum.
Morning breakfast meetings are
held once a month in I ancaster
County on the second Thursday of
each month. The Forum’s mission
is to “Strengthen Agriculture
Through Effective Communica
tion and Alliance Building.” Since
the inception of this forum in
1989, over 90 meetings have been
held on a wide variety of topics,
Biotechnology, Ag Banking,
Animal Rights/Welfare, Nutrient
Management, Soil Conservation,
and Liability issues. Speakers in
cluding Secretary of Ag, DEP and
die Governor have attended. If
you are interested in learning
more about this forum, please con
tact Jenny Youngberg at (717)
BS9-3276 for more information.
Chester Bam
Meeting Set
HONEY BROOK
(Chester Co.) - A classi
fication bam meeting
sponsored by tbe Ches
ter County Holstein
Club is scheduled to be
held on Tuesday, March
24, at 7:30 pm., at the
farm of Sam K. Stolt
zfus, Hooey Brook. The
Stoltzfus herd presently
carries a BAA of
106.9%, and will be
rcscorcd prior to die
bam meeting by Hols
tein Association classi
fier, David Page.
Directions to the
Stoltzfus Farm: Take
route 322 east of Honey
Brook, after the Turkey
Hill Store, make a left
turn onto Supple* Road.
Go to tire stop sign and
turn left The lane into
the farm is the first one
on die left
All interested dairy
men are welcome.
A LESSON
WELL
LEARNED...
LANCASTER
FARMING’S
CLASSIFIED
ADS
GET RESULTS!