Nicole Olynk Widmar Purdue University

Publish Date: March 10, 2014

Human resource management is of increasing importance for today’s livestock operations. Several aspects of employee supervision can challenge managers and owners, including the increasingly complex federal and state regulations surrounding employee management. Farm businesses, and in particular livestock operations, which operate year-round and require employee presence on holidays and evenings, offer unique challenges for the prevention of sexual harassment.

Publish Date: March 10, 2014

Human resource management is of increasing importance for today’s livestock operations. Several aspects of employee supervision can challenge managers and owners, including the increasingly complex federal and state regulations surrounding employee management. Workplace equity and anti-discrimination polices are of particular interest to livestock operations, which may face unique circumstances. Adding confusion for many operators are the intersections between various laws and regulations, especially those related to discrimination, workplace equity, and harassment. Certainly, prevention of discrimination and inequity are less costly than dealing with costly litigation or time-consuming and expensive complaints.

Publish Date: April 25, 2013

What is the governance structure of your farm? Do you have your operation’s governance structure clearly outlined for yourself – and – those involved in the management of your business? What comes to many producers’ minds when they hear the word “structure” is their legal, or tax, structure. Much effort is spent emphasizing the importance of the farm’s legal structure, including discussions around tax implications of various business structures and the impact on ease of transitioning the farm to future generations. But, what is often forgotten how critical the farm governance structure, including a clear articulation of who is responsible for what aspects of the business and how reporting takes place, can be for the efficient and effective operation of the farm business.

Publish Date: August 1, 2012

If you are like other producers, there are rarely, if ever, enough hours in the day. Between feeding, sorting, loading, human resource management, and dropping the kids off at school, you might find yourself bouncing to and fro at breakneck speeds. But, do you know where you are going – and are you focused on what you are doing - when you are moving that fast? Time management is an important skill to develop and consciously allocating your time to various activities can make you more efficient, effective, and ensure that you are spending your time on the activities that are moving you in the direction you want to go.

Publish Date: July 2, 2012

Time and energy available for human resource management is often in competition with time and energy available for financial management, strategic planning, or production-oriented decision making. Farm owners and managers are faced with a finite amount of time – as are all of us! Therefore, managers must make tradeoffs in determining how they will spend their management time and energy on the farm.

Publish Date: March 10, 2014

The pork industry contributes $15.5 billion to the United States agriculture economy and farmers in this industry spent $840 million in hired labor in 2007 [1]. Management of human resources, however, competes with many other on-farm demands and situations forcing farmers to divide their time and energy among many responsibilities [2]. An additional complication is that many workers hired by farmers in this industry are first generation immigrants with a Latino/Hispanic background. They lack familiarity with the U.S. agriculture labor system, speak little English (much less writing) skills, and often are by themselves in the U.S. Working with these employees is a significant challenge for most farmers. Misunderstandings and a deficiency in cross-cultural skills can quickly exacerbate potential labor-related issues on the farm. These workers, on the other side, provide the labor force that otherwise would make hog farms more difficult to operate efficiently. Further, they are known for their strong work ethics and loyalty if paid fairly and treated with respect.

Publish Date: July 2, 2012

Progressive Discipline is a process for dealing with work behavior that does not meet expected and communicated performance standards. The purpose of progressive discipline is to assist the employee in 1) understanding that a problem exists and, 2) that a plan for improvement is in place.

Publish Date: April 18, 2011

The most valuable resource that a farm operation can have is dependable and productive workers. As a farm manager or owner you need to attract and keep the best employees for your farm team. The following factors should be important to you and your employees job satisfaction.

Publish Date: April 18, 2011

Whenever choices exist there is potential for conflict. Such conflicts, when handled correctly, can result in effective, creative solutions and interactions. But unfortunately, it is difficult to consistently turn conflicts into opportunities for growth and improvement. When conflicts are inadequately dealt with, the result can be controversy. Controversy creates a sense of emotional distance between people, such as feelings of dislike, aggression, competition, alienation, and disregard.