Assuring the human factor
Agriculture has long been based on farming families to supply most of the farm labor. Due to the migration of youth and able people from rural areas to cities to pursue employment and obtain a more competitive income, farming labor supply is insecure. There are some solutions that could make the working on dairy farms more attractive. The followings are a list of possibilities: Providing training and mentoring to new farm workers; changing positions at different times might help to avoid worker boredom; developing clear career paths that showcase promotional opportunities within the dairy farm; encouraging employees to share their ideas and suggestions to improve production processes; evaluating performance regularly can provide a platform to discuss goals, assess progress and identify areas for improvement; constructive feedback and goal-setting can help employees align their efforts with production targets; implementing a bonus system tied to specific production metrics, such as milk yield, milk quality, conception rate, calf born, or herd health indicators. Employees who meet or exceed targets can receive monetary bonuses; considering a profit-sharing model where a portion of the farm's profits is distributed among employees based on their contributions and the farm's overall performance; a workforce loan or sharing system developed with other industries could also be a solution; incorporating technological advancements and automation to streamline tasks and reduce the need for manual labor.
Resilience for Dairy
Completed | 2021-2024
- Main funding source
- Horizon Europe (EU Research and Innovation Programme)
- Geographical location
- Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Spain, Slovenia, Netherlands, Northern Ireland