Employee management

By Michelle Chang-Der Bedrosian, Ph.D., Vita Plus | When harvesting and storing forage, getting everything right results in better yields and high-quality forages.  But stars must align for success.

By Brock Irwin | Tips provided for building a supportive farm culture, recognizing mental health challenges and having discussions about mental health.

By Jonathan Ydstie, Vita Plus | Accidents and fatalities increase 17% in the winter. As we think about our farm teams, we likely have some employees who need reminders of the dangers winter can bring. Others may have very little experience working in the cold and need proper training to work safely through the season ahead.

With Bob Headrick, Dias & Fragoso forage consultant A 45-year career in one industry gives a person a lot of perspective. Bob Headrick wouldn't describe his career as a forage custom harvester in California as smooth or easy. Several parallels can be drawn between the hurdles he faced and the challenges of today’s farms and custom harvesters. For Headrick, good relationships were key to overcoming obstacles.

By Peter Coyne, Vita Plus sales manager
Preparing your team to work together, to think as one, to understand the importance of safe and efficient work as they harvest, and to store exceptional feed requires deliberate planning and communication.  It is never safe to assume everyone is on the same page.

The challenge many employers face is finding and retaining good employees. Coyne said the two factors driving employee retention are culture and engagement.

The responsibility to ensure your employees can legally work in the United States falls on your shoulders as their employer. Make sure you have the correct paperwork to continue operating your business.

By Peter Coyne, Vita Plus dairy service specialist

Ben Franklin said it well.

Having a well-planned corn silage harvest is essential if we want to maximize forage quality for the herd in the next year.  On a good day, custom operators chop about 100 acres of corn silage with one chopper.  For a 1,000-cow dairy, each day of chopping results in about a month’s worth of corn silage for the milking herd. 

As rural populations decrease, farms and harvesting crews will have to be competitive to attract new employees to their teams.

Workforce demographics are rapidly changing, explained Peter Coyne, Vita Plus dairy service specialist, during his presentation at the recent Vita Plus Custom Harvester Meeting.  He said more “help wanted” signs are posted now than 1980 and the unemployment rate continues to decrease.  Every day in the U.S., 10,000 people turn 65 and exit the workforce, but the same number of people turn 21 every day.  That means 10,000 jobs are in transition between someone with years of experience and someone who is brand new.