Every type of farming has opportunities available. Some will work out and others won’t.
“There’s never the right time, only the right risk,” said Jessica Pralle-Trimner of Miltrim Farms Inc., as she began her presentation “Right People, Right Place, Right Tech” at the recent Operations Manager Conference hosted by Cornell PRO-DAIRY and the Northeast Dairy Producers Association.
Her farm milks 1,400 cows in a double herringbone parlor and 1,800 cows three times daily among 30 robots. The 1,400-head herd requires 16 full-time employees; the second only six.
“There’s no surprise: tech played a part in the dairy,” she said.
Although it likely didn’t feel like the “right time” to spend so much money investing in a robotic system, it was the “right risk” because of ongoing labor shortages and rising pay rates.
Pralle-Trimner said that the “right people” for helping a farm figure out operational sustainability can include consultants, a peer group and employee teams.
“Consultants play a huge role,” she said. “They can challenge, inspire, create change and sometimes frustrate. There’s also a vet, nutritionist, accountant and business planner. Consultants you choose to guide you.”
Peers are other farmers who will take those late-night phone calls. Pralle-Trimner said they could include people you look for at a conference or “the mentors you aspire to be like.” But occasionally, the best insights are not from other farmers. Outside the industry, general business advisors can help a farm stay on track.
Pralle-Trimner lauded the help from the employee team, including family.
“There are days where I can’t do this,” she said. “Can I just be an employee? I want to be happy working with cows.”
She acknowledged that taking care of the family farm is a common goal, yet at times, it is very challenging.
“Sometimes the heaviest bucket that we want to kick is our employee team we have at home,” she said. “We put in long hours in the worst weather conditions and sometimes, their buckets are too full too.”
Jessica Fralle-Trimner of Miltrim Farms presented at the recent Operations Manager Conference hosted by Cornell PRO-DAIRY and the Northeast Dairy Producers Association. Photo by Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
She said sometimes it’s about staying aware that someone could walk in the door with a better way to do business – and it’s important to remain open to that possibility. Pralle-Trimner wants more farmers to perform SWOT analysis on their team and dairy, looking at Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.
“Be transparent about opportunities,” she said. This can help keep team members from feeling blindsided when you decide to change things in the business.
“Create goals, expectations and checkpoints,” she added.
Keeping the business and workers accountable can help the farm not fall behind in production. But keeping up with goals can challenge some employees. That’s why Pralle-Trimner advised providing support to employees.
“Where you didn’t get anything done, maybe you take the time to talk and train,” she said. “Farming has always been about family. We’re all here to do the same thing. Remember, only 2% of the population feeds the world. You do a job that many people do not want to do. You should own that. Inspire that. Dream about that.”
Pralle-Trimner recalled how six years ago, she worked as a maternity tech. She wanted to work her way to a management position.
“When you start to not love what you do, reach out to the people in your bucket,” she said. “That’s not how my story worked out, but I came back [to the farm].”
One of the big areas where her farm needed improvement was employee turnover. “The best way to gain insight is to talk,” she said.
Notoriously taciturn, farmers don’t tend to do this. Pralle-Trimner said that talking with employees can help farmers know what’s working on the farm and what isn’t. She felt that her farm was sometimes hiring the wrong people – a recipe for disaster.
Adding robots eight years ago has proven to be a great move for the operation. It was a big risk, but an important one, because staffing the parlor was unsustainable. At first, the farm employees squabbled about who knew more than the others about the equipment; however, eventually, with enough communication, this dissipated.
“Tech is not perfect,” Pralle-Trimner said. “It helps us milk our cows. We’re talking about 10 more robots. We can do 30 – why not 40?”
She urged farmers to “listen to the cows – the cows never lie.” She also said to remain consistent in good farming practices.
“You still have to manage cows,” she said. Technology doesn’t change that fact.
“I can’t stress enough to find the right people,” she added. “Attitude is everything. Don’t be a manager that changes the dynamics of your people the moment you step in the door. Do not forget you’re part of the 2% that feeds the world. Go home and tell your team that.”
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