Over the last couple of years Vachel has looked for new employees several times. Each time he starts a new employee search we're all reminded of how difficult it is. When I say "we're all," what I mean is I get to hear Vachel complain about it while he and Austin do all the work.
I've worked for the same Financial Services company for almost 12 years in a variety of different positions, so I'm used to taking the standardized job description, working with someone in HR to post the position, and filter through the applications. Then there's the interview process, offering/declining the position interviews, wage discussions, and on-boarding process. It's stressful, but there are usually a decent set of people to interview and it's a fairly standard process. Not so much when hiring on the farm.
First there's the fact that this isn't necessarily something that's taught. The HR piece tends to be missing from most college level agriculture classes. When Vachel initially made the decision to hire someone a few years ago he ended up reaching out to people he already knew had experience in hiring/managing employees, both in agriculture and "in-town" jobs. Creating the job description and pay package can be difficult if you've never done it before.
Then there's the complexities of the job itself. In this particular situation, the farm already has Austin managing all daily operations so they didn't want someone just like Austin. John has a lot of different skills, so they need someone who will work well with both Austin and John to help the knowledge transfer as John looks toward retirement. (For anyone who has ever lived in a family farming operation, I think we all know that "retirement" just means that instead of showing up to work everyday to do chores and stuff, they show up everyday to check in then help out doing whatever they feel like. Farmers never quit farming.) They need someone to fill in for the daily work (i.e. feeding the cattle) and preferably mechanically inclined, which is a gap between both Austin and John. The new employee needs to be someone okay with working in all kinds of weather, have skills in business, mechanics, cattle, and agronomy. It needs to be someone who is willing to follow the core values on the farm (Safety, Environmental Sustainability, Family, and Integrity) Luckily we farm close enough to both Des Moines and Ames where a spouse can find a job if they don't have an issue with commuting, but there's the factor that a future-or-current spouse may need to find a job, plus trying to find a place to live close to the farming operation.
And where do you find someone? Most of the people in our area already work on family farms, and most people in agriculture seem to go back to their family farms. Vachel found Austin while picking up cattle one day in Knoxville. Austin was working as foreman at the cattle auction when Vachel happened to ask him if he knew anyone who wanted to farm. A couple of weeks ago Vachel and I were test driving a car, chatting with the sales guy riding in the back seat, only to find out the sales guy used to work at a farming operation in NW Iowa and quit because he didn't see any opportunity for advancement. That conversation led to exchanging numbers to see if he wanted to come out and work part-time as needed. My response as I'm driving a vehicle I'm unfamiliar with in the dark: "Hey, Vachel, it's great that you guys are becoming farming BFFs, but do you think we can focus on the car for a few minutes?" The job was posted on Facebook, in Iowa Universities/colleges, Industry Groups and Peer Groups. All that being said, Nolan and Austin already knew each other so word-of-mouth seems to be the most successful.
My biggest issue with hiring someone new is that I LIVE at the farm site. I have two little girls and a dog. This person is around my family and everything I hold dear. They better be trustworthy and conscious of the fact this isn't just a farm, but a home and family. Even though Austin was in charge of hiring this time, he didn't get to make any final decisions until Vachel decided if this guy was worthy enough to be around our family.
All of that goes into hiring someone new at the farm, and the guys were lucky enough to find Nolan. Although I'm pretty sure the reason Nolan took the job was because he knows I make them cookies when they dig my car out of the snow and keep the driveway plowed...which reminds me, I probably owe the neighbors cookies as well...
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| Nolan on the farm. I'm not the only one who gets vehicles stuck. |
