Farm labor shortage again questions

How many of you feel that higher wages alone would solve the problem? Also a longer season (4 weeks insead of 2?) Is it also that so many folks are so far removed from farm life they just wont do it or understand it. (like being a cooper, blacksmith, ferrier etc) thanks all

I think the problem has many different facets. Money is only one of them. Back when I was a kid, my brother worked in the hay fields despite his allergies; these days, people will call you an idiot if you do something for a buck that tends to make you sick.

Second, all these farm people have complained for so long that they're doing work that no one in their right mind would do for the money it pays, that kids are taking them at their word, and deciding that if it's crazy to do farm work for what it pays, they're not gonna be crazy.

Kids who grew up in the city have no idea how to do farm work because they've never been exposed. So they're not gonna go to work for someone who's gonna b!tch at them because they don't know how to do the work, and yet expect them to know everything there is to know about it. I know that during harvest time there's not a lot of time to be a teacher...but if you can't be a teacher, then don't b!tch because these kids don't know how to do the work without asking every step of the way.

And I agree that we've told kids that if they want to make any REAL money, to stay away from farm work...yet we complain that we can't find any kids to do farm work after we tell them that.

Y-all need to calm down with all this farm talk on a tractor forum for the other thread to go poof.

Bussman I think that needed said. I'm an old man and have seen it all. But the old saying that "if you want some one to blame. look in a mirror" is still good.

Finding help for 4 weeks a year will always be tough. Especially when everyone else needs help the same 4 weeks. That's the main reason horses lost out to tractors. Tractors don't cost anything sitting idle for 11 months.
Did you see how I worked tractors into this post?

Ken, not all of the blame goes on the back of the farmers...but a part of the problem is, they don't want to live in the house they helped build. They talk about how farm work is hard, how the farm work THEY do is worth a lot more than what it pays, and then they wonder why kids aren't begging to go to work for them. Maybe they oversold the concept.

No one wants to do it. As a tobacco farmer I can not even find any high school kids to help top and cut. If I paid locals who don't have a job enough for them to give up their tater tickets I would go broke before I even got it in the barn.

Buzzman72......the "Facts" you state are true. Disturbing as it may be, it's still true. Well said.
I have two sons, both grown, both grew up on the farm, both with college degrees. One works his butt off and loves the farm. The other son hates it, literally. Went and got himself a degree in "Philosopy" of all things.......and now can't find a job. My point is, you can't instil the "love of the farm" into everyone.

The good workers are already gainfully employed. Reminds me of the saying "if you need help ask a busy person". I know you guys will come after me because there are so many good workers who can't find jobs, and I do feel for them but as a whole the ones who are willing to work have a job.

The workers who are physically able to do the hard hand labor are mostly young and most of the young people today don't know how to push themselves.

I both farm and do general contracting. Money isnt the answer, everyone that will work seems to be as busy as they want to be. I've tried to hire day labor at 10.00 an hour and I've tried to hire it at 20.00 an hour. With a very few exceptions, unless Im willing and able to hire someone full time they come to work late, the come to work stoned, they come to work drunk, they want to take off early, they are hung over, they bring their kids, they bring their girlfriend, they talk or text all the time, etc.....

I thought 10.00 an hour cash with paid breaks and paid meals was a pretty good deal. Thats one reason I've started cutting back on what I'm doing. At the end of the year there have been a lot of years I havent made that for what I've been doing.

You've said this before "tater tickets", what are you referring too?

I went to college after 50, and the college/s write up all this flowery information about job prospects and earning capacity, and how they'll help you with finding a job, and most of it's a stretch of the imagination to just not there.
But don't count that son out he had to hang in there for the years of college and all the other classes he had to take for that degree well prepared him for jobs.

Know of a few boys here that would love to have a farm job but every one has gotten too big and to take time to show what needs to be done.

Know of a few boys here that would love to have a farm job but every one has gotten too big and to take time to show what needs to be done.

Know of a few boys here that would love to have a farm job but every one has gotten too big and to take time to show what needs to be done.

Back when my boys were in school and we custom baled squares plus square baled our own hay I would hire some of their friends to work with us. The biggest problem was some parents that thought their babies shouldn"t work past a certain hour or before a certain hour or during the hottest part of the day or that they were not paid enough even though all were paid the same and the kids weren"t complaining.

I work hard on my farm and lots of time its for very little pay but its MY farm and I'm here building something.Would I do the same and work for the same money for someone else on their farm? NO NO and NO and I don't expect anyone else to do it for me.Farms are way too big and the big so called 'efficient' farms depended on cheap labor and cheap energy both are headed down the tubes.Let them bust up be sold and many people go back to farming on smaler farms for themselves

Why do you think farm equipment has gotten so big and expensive? The equipment is still cheaper than hiring more "good" help.

A little slow this morning, I guess your tater ticket is welfare food?
So if they work for you for 2-4 wks do they reapply for everything? Do they use the money from you to live till their benefits start back up? I don't know the answers to these, just curious.

You are 100% right -- family farms on the scale of the 1950's and 60's would bring many towns across the country back to life and create hundreds of thousands of jobs on and off the farm. If congress had of acted 40 years ago to eliminate the estate taxes there would be alot more people still on individual farms and able to make a decent living.

I spent the first twenty some years of my life on the farms with my mom, dad, and two brothers. Dad also had four other businesses. I had two businesses of my own and spent thirty years driving truck. It has been the same thing all my life as far as hiring people to work. In my opinion it all comes down to the same answer and that is work ethics. You have those who will work at what ever they need to in order to provide for themselves and/or families. Then you have those who will starve to death rather then work or will not do any more then they have to. I'm sorry to say but it's hard to find people with good work ethics. Therefore it's hard to find people to hire and with all the free hand out programs people find it better to sit back and do nothing. By the way i'm not against programs that help people who need help. Example of what i'm trying to say...... i know of a person who turned down a job at a BP gas station as a manager close to there home (walking distance) paying 500 a week because it might reduce some of there free hand out program and i'm willing to bet 1 or 2 out 3 people would do the same.

Was that right after you finished high school?

I am a farmer. I milk 100 cows and only farm 500 acres row crop so I am pretty small by todays standards.I have tried many times to hire some help.I usually start at 10 bucks an hour and if you are good I pay more if you dont work out you get fired.Almost every hired person I have had is worthless.They wont get up early,they want to quit early,its to hot or to cold outside.I have heard every excuse in the book.Now I am going to try and hire mexicans because I have quite a few years till the kids are old enough to help.

Higher wages will almost always entice someone to actually work.

All you have to do is wave a $100 bill in front of them and tell them that is they do this or that the $100 is theirs. Especially if the work can be performed at a $20/hour rate.

I know that there are people that will not do manual labor no matter what.

At least you will get a good worker. Ask for workers around here and the only ones that don't run are the mexicans.

With as many chicken, tobacco, other row crops, and hay/livestock farmers around here there is farm work to be done year round. Most around here use migrants because the local flat refuse to do farm work at any pay rate.

Dave

We have plenty of Mexicans around since the big packing house ordeal a few miles up the road took place.

A popular way is to first find a good one, then pay him a extra $500.00 at the end of the next workers one year date. The catch is the first one must find the second one, then the third. He will screen out alot of not so good ones that party, drink, and play with knives for recreation.

Stop and think how much 10 dollars an hour is.40 hours at 10 dollars an hour is about 400 dollars.After you take taxes out of it,maybe 300 take home times 52 weeks is around 15000 dollars a year.How would you like to live on 15000 dollars a year?Im real sure its better than nothing,but almost nobody except maybe a kid living at home with his parents is going to be able to stand it.Plus you wont be able to put up with somebody like that probably.Excuses,excuses and probably can get more done without him.
Maybe you dont even make a lot more than that yourself,so how can you hire somebody?If you think about it,hiring help is expensive,way more expensive than it was,plus they arent paying you any more for your products,actually less with the manipulation of the stock market.Its way past time you all should have stood up.I dont know what you are going to do now,but either you will have to do it all yourself,or pay better.
As time goes on,and it might be there now,Mexicans wont work for 10 dollars an hour if they can get a job paying better.10 dollars an hour is not enough money to get good help.You wouldnt work for it either,you couldnt if you had a family and neither can anybody else.Mexicans arent cheap either.They suck up all the countys money with Medicaid and food stamps and still wont work for nothing.Something has to give somewhere.The big shots get all of the money now.We are just slaves,and its getting worse.If farming is like everything else,soon your help will make mare than you do,and work half as much.
So now when I start talikng about the Conservative crap,screwing Americans,this didnt happen over night.Ive been saying the same thing for years.Voting for the same crooks over and over,who give everything to rich people is whats wrong.I dont know what else to tell you.When I tried to have a mechanic shop in 1988 my help made more than me then.Its twice as bad now,plus some have to be a crook to survive.Its not the USA I grew up in.Plus if somebody paid them 10 cents an hour more,the help would quit and go there.You cant blame them.
Double minimum age is about the right pay,so 14 or 15 an hour and you can probably get some fair help.Mexicans maybe 12.Im just guessing and could be way off too.

You know farm work is hard.Plus the guys that you work for arent very pleasant usually.Its like this,the good ones have help,the bad ones are always needing help and crying about it.Kids arent going to do work like that.I think its the big revolt that never happened.Mom and Dad raised the kids to refuse to work like slaves.It doesnt take Mexicans long to figure it out either Ive noticed.If they come here illegal there are lots of big companies that will hire them.They dont have to be a slave for a farmer.
If you notice its always the same people,and the same type of people crying for help.If you pay good enough you can get help.Too many people crying they want help,wont pay,cheat people on their pay,and also arent good to work for either.
Word travels fast.Good people are known,bad people are known too.
There is a bunch of people that are worthless,but there always was.I could find several jobs if there was 3 of me,all of us would be busy,and Im sick too.Lots of people,with nothing wrong with them wouldnt pick up a welding stinger or a wrench or climb up in a truck and drive it,if it was the last job on earth.I like it that way because I dont have trouble finding a job,I have trouble finding good enough pay,or a decent place to work,or an honest person to work for.
When I used to weld for a living,in the 1970s,in Kansas City,I worked at this place where nearly everybody working there was white or red or Mexican,even immigrants that were white but talked with an accent.In those days the government was wanting places like that to hire some black people.So every few months the company would hire a bunch of black guys.The longest I saw one last that started on Monday,he quit at noon Wednesday.Most of them dint make it to lunch time Monday.There were a couple that stayed,but they thought they were white,and were good guys.You could joke around with them.We called them tokens,to their face.Only one of them was a welder,and they fired him finally because he overloaded a crane and dropped a bunch of steel.Dust didnt even clear yet and he was walking out,kicking rocks,black or not.Plus one was a black woman who worked in clean and paint and ran a grinder all day.Hey you have to respect her!She tried to work as hard as the men and was nice too.But some people are not going to work where its real cold,and so much noise you have to holler all the time,Also big heavy iron is going past you on cranes all day.Plus they are after you to do more all the time.Some people just wont do it.Besides that sparks are flying everywhere,catching stuff on fire,everything is greasy and dirty,smoke in the air,and even paint fumes.Doors open in the winter,all the time.Plus while I was there one guy got crippled when beams fell on him,ended up shooting himself,others got hurt,eyes burned,skin burned,cut,broken bones,sick,and most of them were alcoholics,drinking on the job.Hey I went and worked for a farmer after that,when there were still farmers around,he paid better,fed me quite a bit,and even though it was outside,had a air conditioned cab on a tractor that I ran,which was clean compared to the steel plant.That was in 1875 or 1976.
Now the whole plant is in China.The Farmer retired long ago,and I even helped the guy that took his place haul corn a couple of years ago.
When the steel plant was last open in about 2004 they paid 15 dollars an hour and more.The farmer paid 11 dollars an hour a couple of years ago.So I dont know.You arent getting rich at either job,and it gets you down when you can just barely get by,but its better than nothing.Still not great.
Its not so much that farming is so bad,its just mostly what you have to put up with,working dawn to dusk,getting paid for maybe half of it if you only figure 5 days,which usually is 7 days and 90 hours at least or until it rains,and no such thing as a payday.Its whenever they get time to set down and figure it up.Plus all the rest of it.On top of that,if the guy is nuts,like a lot of them are,its not worth putting up with all that crap if you can find a job somewhere else.
The last farmer I helped started hollering when I got a tractor stuck,and I found a lot better job less than a week later.Some people you dont chew on if you want help.I wouldnt put up with that again for anybody.Plus there is no sense in it to start with.I never treated my help that way,even if I fired them.

Nice post, Buzzman.

I personally don't think that more pay would help much. As others have said, getting part time help is hard. Good help already is working and the government has insured that the ones that are too lazy to work will still be fed. When I was in the chicken business I could get HS kids to help in the afternoons and some were pretty good help but most of the time I had to go get them after school and take them back home. This took a couple of hours out of my day. I've sold the chicken farm and now just have cattle and it seems like I realize as much and the work and stress is a lot less. With the current government that we have there certainly isn't much incentive to get any bigger.

This hits kind of close to home for me. So here's my two cents.

I've been on both sides of the equation, employer and employee. I never worked long for anyone I didn't enjoy working for, no matter how much they paid me. I can think of three or four guys I'd love to work for again. The problem was that they weren't in a position to pay me any more money. These guys I worked for when I was much younger. But family responsibilities can get pretty expensive and so I had to look for a way to make more money and I left.....

As an employer, I've had people working for me that I would sell a kidney to keep, but they were such good, intelligent workers that they moved on to better paying jobs....Then I had other kinds of employees that just frustrated me. Acted like they were doing me a favor by showing up. The trouble was they were! I didn't own the company and couldn't set the wages for my employees beyond a very tight margin. But I still needed a certain number of warm bodies in order to do business.

Now, twenty years ago I would have been glad to have worked for $10/hr. But I'd have a hard time convincing my wife that it would be a good career move now!

I guess I'm just talking, and you've got my sympathy. You're kind of stuck in the middle. Can't afford to pay more, but the amount you can afford to pay does not attract the best candidates.

Yeah, we'll probably all wind up eating Chinese imports, just like the big shots in industry and government want us to.....at least until the Chinese decide that they tired of working for nothing and demand more. Then we'll be in trouble.

Christopher

dieseldoc, what part of the country are you in?

I worked for several farmers, dairy and cash grain.They only want you when they need you , what do you do the rest of the year? With No till , there is no plowing, discing or cultivating anymore. The new equipment is too complicated for the average person to work on,famers want help that can repair things, but they dont have a decent shop to work in or any decent shop equipment.The farmers wnat help to work all kinds of hours while the farmers kids take it easy.

I am in Iowa.

15000 a year would be great.I have never made 15000 profit since I started farming.Always something that needs replaced or you have to buy something else or the milk price crashes and I lose 100000 that year and it takes 5 years to catch back up.Also I said I start out at 10 an hour and if you are worth more than that I will pay more than that.I had a guy that would drive one of my dump trucks before. I paid him 18 bucks an hour but he was real good and never broke anything.But almost all other help was not worth 2 bucks an hour.And 10 bucks starting out is about the most you can make around here unless you want to drive 70 miles one way to the city.Its pretty sad I cant find help to run a tractor or skidloader.I dont expect them to help milk or anything like that And funny thing is I do all the manual labor so what the heck do they have to complain about.all I need is a seat jocky is that to much to ask?