Is it possible that you can be a loyal employee to a great company but yet feel that you don’t want to work there any longer? This happened several years ago to an acquaintance of mine. I would like to relate what happened to him to see if there are any life lessons we can learn. Some years ago, my friend applied for a herdsman position on a 500-cow dairy. The farm visit went well, as both parties asked questions back and forth.
Often we can get giddy as we walk around a new farm that we anticipate could be our new place of employment. Perhaps we have been out of work for six weeks or so and are hungry for a new job. This was exactly what happened to my friend.
The farm visit
Don’t let the fact that the farm sounds nice fool you. My friend quickly learned (after he had been hired) that the farm had 47 people in six full-time positions in the last three years or about one a month.
“Why,” my friend thought to himself, “did I not find this out first?”
“Oh well,” he thought to himself again, “I can circumvent any problems they have here.” Obviously there were other issues going on that he failed to investigate.
It’s always wise to investigate a prospective farm you may be working on. By that, I mean check on the prospective employer just as much as they check you out. You do this from a vendor’s perspective, a neighbor’s perspective and a banking perspective.
What do I mean by that? I do not mean to be nosy about intimate banking details, because no one is going to outright tell you those facts.
But it would be well to get a “rough” idea about the solvency of a particular farm from a well-respected banking reference. In today’s market, it’s a must. You surely don’t want to go to a farm that is one step from its finish.
Also, if you are a family man, be wary if you have a good feeling about the dairy but the housing is substandard. Remember, “If momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.”
If your wife doesn’t like the house after you have spent lots of money moving, it could be a costly mistake. Perhaps contemplate taking your spouse with you on the job interview as an extra pair of eyes; it can make the difference.
Don’t hesitate to talk to current employees about the dairy situation. You could get a good feel for the dairy that way.
Have your wife talk to some of the other ladies on the farm about the housing situation, schools, shopping, etc. This could be the difference-maker on taking the job or not.
Be careful if the dairy is isolated, as in it is “50 miles” from any other habitation or stores. Don’t assume that because the cows are great being isolated from other people is OK.
Anticipate the many hours each day that you will be at work. Your family could be miserable in a short time, especially with no other kids to play with your children.
On the job
Yes, my friend was giddy about taking this job because the facilities were nice, the cows were top-notch, and the farm was financially sound. What he did not do is ask about the “owner” of the farm, his work habits, his likes and dislikes.
No matter how good the dairy was, the above-average salary, nice house and more, he did not anticipate an owner who had mood swings every other day.
Today the owner would say, “You’re not milking fast enough.” Tomorrow he would say, “You’re missing too much milk.” Then it was, “You’re taking too long to scrape corrals.” Before it was, “You’re missing too much manure.”
“Why is your monthly conception rate only 19 percent when it’s normally 27 percent?” my friend heard.
Yet, 45 days earlier my friend had loaded three insemination guns to breed three cows he’d caught, when the owner suddenly demanded he put the guns down on the desk and come right now – the owner wanted my friend to pull him out of a wet field he had no business being in anyway.
Twenty minutes later my friend came back to his loaded semen guns, which, as we all know, were now worthless. Yet he was sure he would hear about this waste at the next budget meeting. My friend later coined the phrase “whim farming” after too many incidents like this.
Too much to handle
The owner also wanted everything fixed “now” but yet would not provide the funds needed to complete these projects – they were not in the budget. Yet, the list of projects was long.
He also procrastinated for seven to eight weeks on hiring a mechanic to take care of the many projects that needed attention. Meanwhile, he was using the Band-aid method just to keep things going.
The final straw that broke the camel’s back was the monthly bonus meeting discussion. After talking about the positives on the dairy, the owner threw the meeting open for questions. “Any questions – feel free,” the owner exclaimed.
Well, the feed truck driver had had it! He exclaimed, “Mr. P, why is it that you constantly come out and change our feeding routines? Leave us all alone, so we can get our jobs done. Stop bugging us, please!”
That candid comment did not go over well; as for the monthly bonus, which generally was $250-$300 a month, for that month it was a great big “0”. Needless to say, at the next month’s meeting there were no comments at all. So many different things like this happened that after one year my friend finally threw in the towel and quit.
Take-home messages
While it may have seemed that things were nice on the first visit, it turned out to be a difficult situation for the whole family. After constant turmoil on this farm, like training a new employee every four weeks because someone had finally had enough of the cantankerous owner, it began to take its toll on my friend.
He turned in his two-week notice, only to find out that they had the unheard-of policy of a 60-day notice to resign or you lost all bonus and 401K benefits. Crazy, you say?
Do your homework! Preparation, as usual, is the key to so many things in life – this was surely a costly way to find out. One more point: Do you think for a moment that all 47 people in the six full-time positions were all cheats, thieves and bad people? Hardly!
I personally knew a couple of the guys who worked with my friend on the dairy. They were outstanding dairy people, but every man has his breaking point.
This moody, procrastinating owner was the common denominator for all these people quitting. He just could not keep and retain good employees.
Fortunately, I have had a good education (at Utah State University) and 35 years experience behind me. I, at one time, jumped into something unprepared and paid the price. I quickly learned that there is a fine line between bravery and stupidity.
There’s always a certain amount of danger – danger meaning the unknown – even in shallow waters. Rip tides and sharks do exist. Sometimes you don’t see them until it’s too late.
Keep that in mind, no matter how sensational or fool-proof you think your new dairy job might be. Know the tides before you dive in. PD
Harley Wagenseller
Dairy Manager
wagenseller@live.com
