By Ryan McMichael
I am sure that it is not a mystery that the demand for workers looks to have no immediate end in sight and the source for new workers is few and far between.
Repeatedly, one of the concerning factors for our farms is the supply of labor to keep them operating. Our farm owners and operators are advancing in age, and when looking at who will perform the daily operations of the farm, it may feel like there is nowhere to turn.
The rough times of the late 90s and early 2000s led the older farming generation to encourage their children to seek jobs off the farm. The farm continued with finding an extra person here or there to assist with the daily operation, but many of our farms feel like they have three choices: robotics, outsource labor or get out completely.
Farm kids
Perhaps, you have wondered “Where are those good ol’ farm kids?” You know, the farm kid who would wake early before school to do their own farm chores, leave school to head to the neighbors to help with that farming operation before coming home to make sure the family farm chores were done in the evening; the farm kid who — on day one — you could say get on the 1040 and take it up the road without concern they would end up in the ditch or let alone know how to start the tractor.
Those farm kids still exist, but it is true they are becoming fewer and fewer. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture NASS, our family farms have decreased by 4% from 2012 to 2017, the last year the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported the Census of Agriculture. Many individuals may speculate a similar decline when the new data is released from the 2022 Census of Agricultural.
An aging population is leading those farm families. For example, the average age of the principal farmer operator in Ohio was 57.7 in 2017 — an average age that has continued to rise over the past years of data. With both the shrinking number of farm families and the aging farmer population, it goes to reason that the population of “good ol’ farm kids” has shrunk as well.
Where to look
So, what is a farm to do when they need to seek out that new labor? I would say to continue to contact your local high school’s agricultural education program to see if the FFA advisor may have a lead on a non-farm kid looking for employment.
Taking time to connect with other families of your local agricultural organizations such as farm bureau, grange or dairy associations may also be a source of new workers. While you may find they are looking for labor just the same, there might be that farm family that has a couple of teenagers looking for work.
With any of these solutions, you will need to prepare to have to train those new employees more than you would have 30 years ago. Our farms have developed and changed over time along with our equipment. Spending an extra day or two training those new employees during a slow mid-summer season, may be worth it compared to losing days during the peak of silage chopping because of an equipment breakdown caused by that untrained employee.
There are no easy solutions to our labor concerns in the agricultural industry. As producers, you should take time to evaluate what is the best solution for your farm and long-term decision for investment.
If you need assistance in determining the factors to consider as you look to hire employees, make the investment in automation or plan a long-term management solution for the farm, our OSU Extension county office is happy to assist or put you in contact with our extensive team of farm management and livestock specialists.
While we may not have the name of that “good ol’ farm kid” for your next employee, we want to assist you however we can.
(Ryan McMichael is an agriculture and natural resources OSU extension educator in Mercer County. He can be reached at mcmichael.33@osu.edu or 419-586-2179.)
