Farm staff are a key asset
May 2010
THE GERBERS
| Who: |
Errol and Julie Gerber |
| Where: |
South-east Queensland |
| What: |
850-cow herd |
- Have a clear business vision that is shared with everyone on the farm
- Review the current situation and take practical steps to get the business where they want it to be
- Believe people are the most important asset
- Have systems that suit the people working on the farm
- Document roles and procedures
- Invest in developing the skills of the people working on the farm
Since deregulation, south-east Queensland dairyfarmers, Errol and Julie Gerber, have expanded their herd from 80 cows to 850, acquired several properties along the way and gone from one employee to 17. While properties and cows can be bought and sold, the Gerbers believe people are their most important asset.
Industry deregulation in 2000 triggered the Gerbers to carefully review the future of their dairy operation at Marburg, west of Gatton.
“The 160ha dryland dairy farm was unsustainable for dairying in a deregulated environment. If we wanted a future in dairying we needed to look at other options,” Mrs Gerber said.
In July 2000 the Gerbers leased a dairy farm at Harrisville, about 40 kilometres to the south of Marburg. Their milking cows were moved to the Harrisville property so that the Marburg farm could be used for heifers and dry stock.
“We employed our first farm manager, Bevan Jackwitz, who lived on the Harrisville farm and ran the dairy, with Errol travelling from Marburg to assist.”
In August 2004, the Gerbers bought and moved to a property at Lowood, about 20km north-west of Marburg. It had two part-time workers whom they continued to employ.
A neighbouring property came up for sale which the Gerbers bought in December 2004, seeing the opportunity to expand. Over the next year they bought more cows for the Lowood farm and employed a herd manager and a trainee.
In mid 2006, the Gerbers switched to milking three times a day at both Harrisville and Lowood, hiring casual labour for the night milking. The Lowood dairy was upgraded and automated, and a 500- cow shade shed built with facilities to feed a total mixed ration (TMR).
“These decisions were part of our strategy to combine both dairies onto the Lowood property and rationalise our business,” Mrs Gerber said.
The Harrisville cows were moved to the Lowood farm in October 2006. Bevan moved with the cows, taking on the role of managing both herds and working with existing staff.
They were now milking about 600 head so the herd was split into two groups: the fresh herd (higher production, early lactation cows) and the stale herd (later lactation, lower producing cows). The fresh cows are fed in the shade shed and milked three times a day while the stale herd is milked twice a day and grazed with a partial mixed ration (PMR).
At the peak of the season, the 20 a-side double-up herringbone dairy operates about 14 hours a day, milking about 850 cows.
“We have chosen to use staff instead of building a bigger dairy,” Mrs Gerber said.
People
The year 2007 was challenging in terms of staffing.
“It was a steep learning curve to go from doing it all ourselves to having numerous staff, Mrs Gerber said.
“It was hard to find the information and skills we needed to develop ourselves and our staff. So we worked with a human resources consultant to identify what we needed to make our workplace better.”
The human resources (HR) consultant highlighted the need to have accurate job descriptions, clear policies and documented procedures.
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“This enables staff to know what is required of them and what our expectations are. With a system in place we can provide any training the staff may need and monitor performance.”
In 2008 the Gerbers employed a general manager, Shayne Lambert, on a contract basis to oversee the whole operation. He had a long-term relationship with the Gerbers, having been their nutritionist and financial consultant for many years.
“Errol and I have a vision of what we want our business to be and we recognise the value in engaging people who can help us achieve our vision. It’s not about doing everything ourselves,” Mrs Gerber said.
Having Shayne on board enabled the Gerbers to develop the business further. His role includes staff recruitment and rostering.
“Shayne took over the role of staff management and that gave us the opportunity to look more closely at our approach,” she said.
Appointing an assistant herd manager, Dan Brown, allowed further development of the embryo transfer program and show team.
Their stud, Wyvenhoe Holsteins, showed cattle for the first time in 2009 at the Gympie Show and Brisbane Exhibition, bringing home plenty of ribbons.
The farm’s first open day was held in July 2009, displaying lines of AI bred heifers and their first annual heifer sale was held in March 2010. Registered bulls are sold throughout the year.
“Our staff have gained a lot of experience with breeding and preparing cattle for show and sale. Our trainees learn a broad range of skills as we develop our business beyond producing milk,” Mrs Gerber said.
Keeping good staff
“We recognise that some employees are transitional (short term) but the strength lies in the nucleus of farm staff that is with us for the long term.”
One of the Gerbers’ business values is to support each staff member to work towards their individual aspirations, so they encourage those who are interested in training or study.
“We welcome ideas and suggestions from everyone on the team. The business benefits and our people feel valued.”
When putting together rosters, the Gerbers recognise that people have a life outside work, offering flexible variations of a 10-day fortnight.
“We want our people to enjoy work and not burn out. We all need time with our families and at home.”
Building the business culture and team spirit is important to the Gerbers.
“We even have our own indoor cricket team called Bulls R Us. It stemmed from a few staff being passionate cricketers. Errol and I and the kids are the cheer squad,” Mrs Gerber said.
Regular meetings and effective communication are an important aspect of the workplace.
“If we give instructions and don’t get the result we were looking for, we probably haven’t communicated effectively. Staff need to be informed of what’s happening in the workplace so they can see the bigger picture,” she said.
Determined to continue to improve human resource management, Mrs Gerber joined a People in Dairy group last year.
“It was fabulous sharing experiences and learning how other people have dealt with different situations.
“It was comforting to hear other people facing similar challenges and I went home with ideas to put into practice,” she said.
The group sessions also made Mrs Gerber more aware of the wealth of resources available on The People in Dairy website.
“I found the recruitment section invaluable as it makes you really sit down and think about what the job is and what skills you require.
“We found The People in Dairy’s interview scoring system particularly useful, especially when we use an interview panel.”
The new Pastoral Award is next on the Gerbers’ HR agenda.
“We’ll use The People in Dairy website for that too. The information is all there in an easy-to-find format. The IR changes are complex and it’s quite challenging to work out what they mean for our farm.
“We are fortunate that the dairy industry provides resources and advice to help farmers comply with the new legislation,” Mrs Gerber said.
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