Different approach to staffing in the dairy industry

The New Zealand Kellogg Rural Leaders Programme develops emerging agribusiness leaders to help shape the future of New Zealand agribusiness and rural affairs. Lincoln University has been involved with this leaders programme since 1979 when it was launched with a grant from the Kellogg Foundation, USA.I believe the New Zealand dairy industry is being compromised by understaffing on farms, especially larger units of 600 cows or more. This has become a significantly greater problem in the last 10 years and specifically in the South Island with larger farm sizes and cow numbers rapidly increasing. As the dairy industry grows to maintain this growth it must attract and retain people within the industry. To do this the dairy industry must compete with other industries for people available and must become an industry of choice (acirrt 2004). NewCo Dexcel, (Tim MackIe pers.com) has highlighted that a major problem in lifting on farm productivity is the reluctance of average farmers to uptake new and already available science and technology. I believe that a major reason for this is that your average farmer has not got the time available to look at and implement these systems. This discussion paper looks at a course of action not readily taken up by the industry. That is, increasing staffing levels