The average farm milked 136 cows, with a range of 22 to 630 cows milked on the day the survey was completed. A total of 774 workers were involved with the operation of the farms, including 331 arm’s length employees, 158 non-owner family members and 285 owners.
Labour per cow per day
The 154 farms averaged 13.5 minutes of labour required per milking cow per day. There was a wide range in the daily labour requirement between farms.
The 20th and 80th percentile ranges were 8.4 and 17.8 minutes of labour required per milking cow per day, respectively. Figure 1 shows the daily labour per milking cow for each of the farms.
Larger farms tended to have lower labour minutes per cow. Farms that milked less than 60 cows averaged nearly 19 minutes per cow per day of labour, while farms milking more than 180 cows required less than 9 minutes per cow per day of labour.
Arm’s length employees
The average wage paid to arm’s length employees was $15.53 per hour. The wage rate at the 20th and 80th percentiles was $12 and $18.69. Not surprisingly, herdspersons were the highest paid, averaging $18.77 per hour. The small sample size for “calf feeders” makes the result for that position unreliable.
Arm’s length employees worked an average of 29 hours per week. Herdspersons averaged 50 hours a week. Milkers had the lowest average hours per week, reflecting the fact that many were hired to milk a few milkings a week.
The herdsperson position appeared to be almost always a full-time position. For all the other positions, there was a clear split between part-time employees and full-time employees filling the positions.
Vacation and benefits were calculated for employees that worked 24 or more hours per week. On average, arm’s length employees received 1.5 weeks of paid vacation and statutory holidays. Benefits were valued at $0.81 per hour. In both cases, herdspersons received more than the average of all dairy farm employees.
This is the fourth dairy farm labour survey that the Progressive Dairy Operators has completed. The first was in 2004. The survey has been done every three years since then.
Between 2004 and 2013, Statistics Canada reports that the average Ontario wage for all industries rose by $3.75 per hour. The wage rate in the PDO surveys rose by $3.68 per hour.
Pay for the herdsperson position increased by $6.40 per hour in the period. Wages for milkers and labourers increased an average of $3.19 and $3.41 per hour, respectively. Data was not collected for feeders, calf feeders and herd workers in 2004.
Meat and milk were the most commonly reported benefit. Christmas bonuses, gasoline and the free use of farm equipment were often identified. Herdspersons often received housing or reduced rent and utilities for housing.
On average, employees had worked on the farm for a little less than four years. Nearly a quarter of the employees (22 percent) had been employed less than one year on the farm, while 7 percent had been employed on the farm more than 10 years.
Non-owner family members
Family members tended to receive lower pay than arm’s length employees. The average wage was $14.23 per hour. For family members, milkers received the highest wage rate.
Non-owner family members identified as herdspersons or feeders averaged a few more hours of work per week than arm’s length employees. For other positions, family members averaged less hours of work per week.
Non-owner family members included younger family members still in school. Responses made it clear that many were in their early teens. The survey did not ask the age of the family members.
Family members received about the same amount of paid vacation as the arm’s length employees. For some reason, herdspersons received less, while labourers and calf feeders tended to receive more vacation than their arm’s length counterparts.
Family members that worked 24 or more hours per week received higher benefits than arm’s length employees.
Hours for owners
The average hours of work for owners were about the same as reported for the herdspersons (48.5 hours per week), but the range was wider, with the 20th and 80th percentiles reported at 25 and 70 hours. PD
Jack Rodenburg is with DairyLogix Consulting
Brian Lang
Dairy Cattle Production Systems Program Lead
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture Food & Rural Affairs
