Jun 19, 2007

Growers Need to be Proactive to Attract, Keep Good Workers

When Gregory Billikopf goes into a field to watch farm workers pick produce, it’s not hard for him to figure out their pay system. If they’re all moving together in a row across the field, with no one too far ahead or too far behind, they’re probably being paid by the hour.

“When they’re paid by the hour, the fastest worker works no faster than the slowest one,” he said.

Billikopf, a labor management farm adviser for the University of California (UC), said an hourly pay system leads to unproductive workers. He recommends a piece-rate system, where workers are paid for the amount of work they do, not how long it takes them to do it. The piece-rate system has to be properly designed, however. If it’s improperly designed, the results are much the same as with the hourly system.

The proper piece-rate design permits employees to maximize earnings while farms reduce their costs. It’s a win-win situation – but growers and workers must be convinced it can work. That requires communication and trust, Billikopf said.

For a grower, the thought of a worker making two or three times the minimum wage through a successful piece-rate system can be scary at first, but if he focuses on the cost per acre harvested instead of the cost per hour, he’ll find that highly productive workers actually improve his bottom line.

On the other end, many workers have been burned by the piece-rate system and prefer hourly pay. They fear growers will cut their piece rate if they perform at their full potential. If a grower can convince his workers that reaching their full potential is good for both parties, he’ll have happy, productive employees who won’t bolt to off-farm jobs, Billikopf said.

The Need for Workers

Keeping workers happy and on the farm is more important than ever, with growers across the country struggling to find sufficient labor. Experts cite several ways growers can attract and keep good workers, including good pay, quality housing and skillful management.

Productive workers allow growers to pay higher wages. Training encourages productivity, but so does incentive pay. Pay must be competitive with other industries that hire workers with similar skills and qualifications, said Vera Bitsch, an agricultural economics professor at Michigan State University.

Building a relationship with each worker can build long-term loyalty. Dealing with problem workers, not allowing abusive behavior, giving competent feedback and listening to what workers have to say is just as important as good pay, but a grower should never force his workers to choose between working for him because he’s a “good guy” and making a better living for their families, Bitsch said.

Simple things like readily accessible drinking water can make a huge difference in worker productivity and morale, she said.

Some growers are adding more enterprises to keep workers busier for longer periods, or are sharing them with other farms, said Alison DeMarree, fruit educator for Cornell Cooperative Extension.

Adding or combining crops can be useful, but such changes should always be discussed with workers, who might have plans of their own, Bitsch said.

Recruiting

Too many growers have a passive attitude when it comes to recruiting – they wait for employees to walk in the door. That’s not good enough when labor is scarce. Growers need to recruit proactively. Asking trusted workers how they find work is a good first step. Working with a recruitment service and advertising with local radio stations also can be effective, Bitsch said. Billikopf, the UC farm adviser, recommended advertising job openings on Spanish radio stations.

Quality housing attracts quality workers and creates a better relationship between workers and employers. If the housing on a farm is poor, workers will move on quickly to find better conditions, said Juan Marinez, assistant to the director of Extension at Michigan State University.

The attitude of surrounding communities also has an effect on farm labor. Older communities tend to be more familiar with farm work cycles, but some communities would rather see tourists and large homes than workers and farm housing, Marinez said.

Another recruiting obstacle is the stigma associated with agriculture. Farm work is seen as hard and dirty, and many job applicants don’t even consider it when looking for employment, DeMarree said.

Farmers have been told for so long that farm work is horrible, they’ve come to believe it – but it’s not necessarily true. According to a study Billikopf conducted, farm workers love their jobs. He’s interviewed plenty of people in non-agricultural fields who have a “can’t wait until it’s Friday” mentality, but most farm workers have an attitude of gratitude. One day of work in Mexico is equivalent to one hour of work in the United States. It’s a wonderful opportunity to climb out of poverty, Billikopf said.

Employee selection is crucial. Growers tend to hire everybody who shows up, but that’s a mistake. If you have 20 workers doing the same thing, the best worker is between four to eight times better than the worst worker. Growers should use practical tests to sort the best from the worst, Billikopf said.

For example, if you’re hiring someone to drive a tractor, test his driving skills beforehand. Watch him move the tractor forward, or back it into a row while towing a spray rig. See if he’s capable of following instructions. A practical test is the best predictor of a good worker, he said.

Knowing a worker’s expectations also is important. Some workers want to work a ton of hours, some don’t. Knowing what they want beforehand can help you accommodate them when it comes to scheduling, DeMarree said.

Heading East

According to Billikopf, the growing demand for migrant workers in the United States and Canada is not a result of the recent immigration crackdown, but is part of an independent phenomenon that is increasing in tempo: Migrant workers are heading east.

In the past, most migrants would filter into Western states. About 12 years ago, however, farmers in the Midwest and East Coast started discovering the advantages of hiring workers from south of the border. All of a sudden, Hispanic labor was hot.

According to a Billikopf survey, 3 percent of the workers hired by Northeast dairy farmers in 2000 were foreign-born. In 2006, the number skyrocketed to 43 percent. The same thing is happening on fruit and vegetable farms, he said.