The purpose of this article is to increase your comfort level in performance discussions. There are two types of performance discussions. The first focuses on training and assigning new tasks and/or responsibilities. The second is providing feedback on the execution of those tasks and responsibilities. The focus of this article is the latter – feedback – although all but the first section applies to both.

An important and often overlooked ingredient for skilled and engaged employees is investing in their growth and development.

Milking automation represents not only a technological advancement but a fundamental shift in dairy farm management. While automation simplifies processes, the human touch remains indispensable. Successfully managing employees requires finding the right balance between leveraging the power of technology and nurturing a supportive, engaged work environment.

Beef production business and ranch managers have been anticipating and preparing for the fall busy season including weaning, selling calves, vaccinations, fall calving, etc., for weeks. Now it is time for managers to be doers. Right? Well, yes and no.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines trust as “an assured reliance on the character, ability, strength or truth of someone or something; dependence on something future or contingent: hope.”

Employees are one of the largest expenses on a farm – second only to feed costs. The most startling part of this statistic is that staff care is frequently low priority and high risk.

Si-Ellen Farms hosts a health fair event for their employees to give them a general overview of health providers in their community and what they could be seen for.

An employee who has been with our team for nearly five years just turned in his resignation. He was the kind of employee that anyone would want. He does an excellent job in his role, works well with the rest of the team and doesn’t take a lot of oversight.

In this episode of the Progressive Dairy Podcast, host Kimmi Devaney visits with Kansas dairy producer Lee Holtmeier from Linn Willow Creek Dairy about their employee culture, what they do to mentor and empower employees, and how they keep employee turnover low. 

The program provides tools and resources to dairy owners and managers to help them identify strengths and opportunities related to employee engagement and build a plan to address and improve weaknesses.