Attracting employees in agriculture. (contracting)

[bigrigg150]

Any advice? Alot of guys having sales and giving up the ag contracting game. We don't plan on doing that and have a healthy business doing predominantly grass silage for dairy farms, slurry pumping/spreading and ag construction work.
Happy to pay good wages for good people.
I have friends and family who work for local big cement works, chemical factory's etc that work all sorts of fancy shift patterns.... 4 days on 4 days off etc etc and overtime after so many hours or on weekends etc. i am not against trying any of that but wouldn't know how to do it.
Basically i want to bring being employed by an agri contractor into the modern ways of the world.
Any body doing it already? on farms or contractors?

At the moment......it sounds a bit harsh.....but i feel we just get all the erm.....leftovers of staff.....if you sort of get what i mean.

Any tips for attracting, keeping and encouraging staff appreciated
thankyou

 

[nick...]

This will be an ongoing problem.a lot of people no longer want to work ridiculous hours regardless of pay and often the money ain’t there to pay good money either.can see a lot of contractors packing up and then the rest can set sensible rates.youngsters may be happy working long hours,I expect most of us have been there but people want social lives and to go out and do as their friends do who maybe don’t work in ag contracting.id imagine family firms take little money from the job but it can continue.
nick...

 

[Scholsey]

With prices where they are I can’t see how a contractor rocking up with a £150,000 tractor and £100,000 slurry tanker and charging £75/hr compared to Joe Plug with his £20,000 Vivaro van and £1000 bag of tools to fit a new kitchen on £50/hour, the problem being agriculture purely can’t afford anymore than £75 whereas Sandra with her new kitchen can afford a £2000 bill to fit her kitchen because she is only paying 15% of her salary on food. The jobs f##ked.

 

[Spencer]

Happy to pay good wages for good people.


At the moment......it sounds a bit harsh.....but i feel we just get all the erm.....leftovers of staff.....if you sort of get what i mean.

What do you believe to be a good wage for someone who isn't "leftovers"?

 

[DrWazzock]

Always staggers me that somebody will pay £300k for a machine but won’t pay more than min wage for the driver.
I don’t know the answer but making it a profession rather a job for a steering wheel attendant would be a start. Training, CPD, etc but as said is there enough money in it especially after paying so much for kit.
Some round here seem to use old codgers running their old classics for ploughing etc doing it for next to nothing. That’s what it’s come too. Either that or Billy Bigballs one step ahead of the finance company.

 

[Scholsey]

Always staggers me that somebody will pay £300k for a machine but won’t pay more than min wage for the driver.
I don’t know the answer but making it a profession rather a job for a steering wheel attendant would be a start. Training, CPD, etc but as said is there enough money in it especially after paying so much for kit.
Some round here seem to use old codgers running their old classics for ploughing etc doing it for next to nothing. That’s what it’s come too. Either that or Billy Bigballs one step ahead of the finance company.

No. Minimum wage goes up in April, will almost every business in the country put their prices up to cover it, yes, can primary agricultural producers, no of course they can’t because people definitely can’t be made to pay more for their food can they.

 

[Jasper]

Any advice? Alot of guys having sales and giving up the ag contracting game. We don't plan on doing that and have a healthy business doing predominantly grass silage for dairy farms, slurry pumping/spreading and ag construction work.
Happy to pay good wages for good people.
I have friends and family who work for local big cement works, chemical factory's etc that work all sorts of fancy shift patterns.... 4 days on 4 days off etc etc and overtime after so many hours or on weekends etc. i am not against trying any of that but wouldn't know how to do it.
Basically i want to bring being employed by an agri contractor into the modern ways of the world.
Any body doing it already? on farms or contractors?

At the moment......it sounds a bit harsh.....but i feel we just get all the erm.....leftovers of staff.....if you sort of get what i mean.

Any tips for attracting, keeping and encouraging staff appreciated
thankyou

I don’t wish to be negative but I don’t think there’s any good people left I’ve been relief milking on one farm for 20 years and they are really good to work for and in all that time they’ve never found anyone. people do come and start but they don’t last very long . I know there are plenty of good workers out there but they’ve usually got good jobs already

 

[hoff135]

Big disconnect between machinery prices and farm incomes. Ag contractor sits in the middle, can't charge enough and can't afford the kit. It's a no win situation. A few one man band outfits packed up here recently, of course there's a couple of hero's trying to replace them

 

[Princess Pooper]

Any advice? Alot of guys having sales and giving up the ag contracting game. We don't plan on doing that and have a healthy business doing predominantly grass silage for dairy farms, slurry pumping/spreading and ag construction work.
Happy to pay good wages for good people.
I have friends and family who work for local big cement works, chemical factory's etc that work all sorts of fancy shift patterns.... 4 days on 4 days off etc etc and overtime after so many hours or on weekends etc. i am not against trying any of that but wouldn't know how to do it.
Basically i want to bring being employed by an agri contractor into the modern ways of the world.
Any body doing it already? on farms or contractors?

At the moment......it sounds a bit harsh.....but i feel we just get all the erm.....leftovers of staff.....if you sort of get what i mean.

Any tips for attracting, keeping and encouraging staff appreciated
thankyou

I suspect a lot of it is about the work/life balance. When contractors are flat out some of the staff work ridiculous hours. A lot of youngsters don't mind doing that as they can earn a lot of ££ but we know that some are turning to drugs to keep them going - at its mildest, cans of Red Bull that are then thrown onto every verge. Then they either get a girlfriend who wants them to spend less time at work, or settle down with a family and the hours become untenable. Our main contractor doesn't really work on Sundays any more, even silage or combining, to give the team a proper day off, including himself as he has 2 young kids. He therefore has to manage farmer expectation.

Some firms seem to keep staff well, mainly middle aged men whose kids are older and they also take more care of the kit. I know at least a few of them came to tractor driving later in life, so perhaps that's where to look?

I think people want more flexibility now, whether that's accepting it may be long hours at certain times (eg silaging) in return for some extra days or hours off when things quieten down, but even within those busy periods there must be some guaranteed 'down time'.

In order to make this work our contactor does hire in local men from other farms with tractors to help out with carting, in order to ensure that the acreage is still covered but everyone gets some time off. It also helps those local farmers to pay for their tractors/staff by doing a bit of off-farm work without the hassle of having to organise it or try and establish their own customer base.

 

[Hilly]

Money and conditions attracted an awfull lot of folk away from agriculture so it would attract an awfull lot back , i doubt there is enough in the system for it tho … no chance .

 

[Boohoo]

Around here I'd say the weather is the biggest problem for agricultural contractors trying to retain staff, I know it's the reason I do less every year.
You can have all the money and fancy shift patterns in the world but when it rains all week during silage season and you're forced to work around the clock at the weekend you soon get sick of it and look for a less weather dependent way of earning a living.

 

[Netherfield]

Around here I'd say the weather is the biggest problem for agricultural contractors trying to retain staff, I know it's the reason I do less every year.
You can have all the money and fancy shift patterns in the world but when it rains all week during silage season and you're forced to work around the clock at the weekend you soon get sick of it and look for a less weather dependent way of earning a living.

And don't have the other half nagging at you because 'you're never there'

 

[Spud]

Any advice? Alot of guys having sales and giving up the ag contracting game. We don't plan on doing that and have a healthy business doing predominantly grass silage for dairy farms, slurry pumping/spreading and ag construction work.
Happy to pay good wages for good people.
I have friends and family who work for local big cement works, chemical factory's etc that work all sorts of fancy shift patterns.... 4 days on 4 days off etc etc and overtime after so many hours or on weekends etc. i am not against trying any of that but wouldn't know how to do it.
Basically i want to bring being employed by an agri contractor into the modern ways of the world.
Any body doing it already? on farms or contractors?

At the moment......it sounds a bit harsh.....but i feel we just get all the erm.....leftovers of staff.....if you sort of get what i mean.

Any tips for attracting, keeping and encouraging staff appreciated
thankyou

Decent flat rate forget all the overtime malarkey
Don't be shy with rewards where they're due
Accommodate time off with sufficient notice
Don't tolerate idiots - they drive the good guys away
That all said, everyone is different and need to be treated as such

 

[Mc115reed]

Iv worked for plenty of contractors over the last 15 years and I couldn’t think of anything worse than “shift patterns” … the best way too do it is talk too the staff and manage your work too what they want, then you’ll keep them happy… personally I wanted all the hours I could get on a flat rate, over time was a killer because by wednsday evening I was getting “come back too the yard I’ll send someone too take you off I’m not paying you overtime” .. don’t be a massive pr*ck because these lads give there life up for your business .. I’d sooner earn less dosh and work for a sound bloke who will work around me than earn loads of money working for a knobhead

 

[Blue.]

It's all well and good saying pay a decent wage,the problem is when you get a summer like last,everything OK till mid June then it rained non stop,what do you have them doing?
There's only so much greasing up you can do,if you're paying good wages it can ruin you.

 

[Superted820]

Decent flat rate forget all the overtime malarkey
Don't be shy with rewards where they're due
Accommodate time off with sufficient notice
Don't tolerate idiots - they drive the good guys away
That all said, everyone is different and need to be treated as such

Spot on. I left a contractor before Christmas for several reasons. But one main reason was not being appreciated any more than the vaping, rubbish in the cab, not worried about either doing a good job or looking after the kit young lads who don’t go the extra mile. I was quite happy to come in early/ stay on late, to blow off the baler, grease up, load up with wrap etc etc so as to get on earlier in the morning. Whereas others failed to even clean the machine off before returning to the yard let alone prepare for tomorrow. After a while even the most conscientious operator just starts to think…. Why am I doing this. Why am I putting myself out.
Sometimes all it takes is a “thank you” to feel a bit appreciated and carry on doing the best job you feel you are capable of doing. Even some food when you’re out late and started early. Not asking for the world. But all too often that little bit of thanks is too much to ask. So. I’m out.

 

[Werzle]

Run a small team of good blokes to drive the main kit , pay them well and outsource all the hauling type work to farmers/sons looking for extra work with their own tractors. If you got to buy tractors let the driver pick the brand and tell them they have to see it out 3-4yrs.

 

[DRC]

Run a small team of good blokes to drive the main kit , pay them well and outsource all the hauling type work to farmers/sons looking for extra work with their own tractors. If you got to buy tractors let the driver pick the brand and tell them they have to see it out 3-4yrs.

Are there that many farmers/ sons looking for work these days, and if there Are and they have any sense they won’t clock up hours and wear out their own machines for peanuts. A chap has moved in locally and thought he’d easily pick up a farmers son to help him part time , but is still looking .
And I’d be surprised if many would commit to 3-4 years if they get to choose a colour of tractor as the ones I know seem to have bust ups at least once a season

 

[Blue.]

Run a small team of good blokes to drive the main kit , pay them well and outsource all the hauling type work to farmers/sons looking for extra work with their own tractors. If you got to buy tractors let the driver pick the brand and tell them they have to see it out 3-4yrs.

How many’s a small team?

1 on the forager
1 on the rake
1 on the clamp
At least 1 on the mower

Three teams your at 12 before you even think about trailers and tedders .

 

[Blue.]

Are there that many farmers/ sons looking for work these days, and if there Are and they have any sense they won’t clock up hours and wear out their own machines for peanuts. A chap has moved in locally and thought he’d easily pick up a farmers son to help him part time , but is still looking .
And I’d be surprised if many would commit to 3-4 years if they get to choose a colour of tractor as the ones I know seem to have bust ups at least once a season

In our area there’s no farmers sons,never mind commitment.