AN OVERVIEW OF THE DAIRY

INDUSTRY AND THE CHANGING

LABOR DEMOGRAPHICS

Rubén Martinez

with the Assistance of

Marizel Davila Figueroa

William Escalante

Julian Samora Research Institute

Michigan State University

October 30, 2014

Objectives

• Review trends in dairy farms in U.S.

• Review changes in labor forces in U.S.

• Identify issues arising from the shift in the

labor forces on dairy farms

• Review emerging responses to the

challenges arising from the shift in the labor

forces on dairy farms

2

Trends in Dairy Farming

• Long-term consolidation trend (Shields, 2010). Nation’s herd size has decreased by 2.8% over the past decade while

production has increased by 15%.

“More milk from fewer cows on fewer farms” (Powell, Russelle, & Martin, 2010; Shields, 2010)

Increase in production demand and desire to expand (Valentine, 2005)

Fewer Farms, Growth in Farm Sizeo 1955- there were several thousand small processing plants in the United States

(Martin, 1981).

o Dairy farms with fewer than 500 cows decreased by 18% between 2005 and 2009 while those with 1,000 or more increased by 20% (Shields, 2010).

o As technology improved the plants became larger and fewer (Martin, 1981, Nott, Kauffman & Speicher, 1981).

o Overwhelming majority of farms are family operations (Hoppe & Banker, 2010)

Development of the Supply Chain

• These have meant changes in: Infrastructure, use and type of technology

o In the 1980s the free stall systems were considered the superior choice for labor efficiency.

Increased productivityo Dairy scientists have played a major role in helping dairy herd managers use labor

more efficiently (Nott et al, 1981).

3

Trends in Dairy Farming Cont’d• Human Resources:

Management

o Personnel management has become an increasingly important issue for farm managers particularly as the size of farms has increased (Nott et al., 1981).

o Management input on the dairy farms usually comes from the owner and the owner’s immediate family (Nott et al., 1981: 1338).

o Laws and guidelines established by policymakers affect an owner’s decisions (Nott et al., 1981).

o Dairy farm managers have turned to hiring immigrant and Latino labor.

o Currently 41% of dairy farms in the US depend on foreign labor (Baker & Chappelle, 2012)

o In NY, PA, and VT, 67.4% large farms (≥ 300 milk stock) have at least one Spanish-speaking worker, and it’s predicted that within five years Latinos will comprise 53% of the labor force on large farms (Baker & Chappelle, 2012; Jenkins, et al., 2009)

Trainingo Cultural-sensitive education, training and translation tools have been developed

by land grant universities and agricultural agencies to help farms owners manage the changing dairy workforce (Stack., 2006; Jenkins, Stack, May & Earle-Richardson, 2009)

4

Changes in Agricultural Labor Force

• Rise among Latinos in Labor

Latinos comprise approximately 16.7% of the nation’s population,

and are projected to comprise approximately 1:3 by 2050.

In 9 states and 912 counties in the US the Latino population

doubled in sized between 2000 and 2010 (Baker, 2012).

Accordingly the US labor force reflects these changes, with Latinos

comprising 14.8% in 2010, and projected to increase to 18.6% by

2020 (Stack, 2006; ).

• In Agricultural Latinos comprise a much greater

segment of the labor force

Estimates of hire agricultural workers range between 1 and 3

million, depending on the source

Approximately 75% are foreign-born (mostly from Mexico and

Central America); and “over half” are believed to be unauthorized

5

Labor Force Changes on Dairy Farms

• The dairy industry is undergoing similar changes to the rest of the workforce (Stack, 2006).

• Currently 41% of dairy farms in the US depend on foreign labor (Baker & Chappelle, 2012) “This demographic shift provided increasing numbers of Latino

workers in the dairy industry, which had previously hired relatively few foreign-born laborers.”

• “Spanish-speaking workers are increasingly seen in jobs traditionally held by individuals whose first language is English (Stack, 2006).” Spanish-speaking workers compose a significant proportion of the

dairy workforce (Jenkins et al., 2009)

• The increased hiring of Latino workers has been due to labor shortages on dairy farms (Baker & Chappelle, 2012).

6

Emerging Latino Workforce on

Dairy Farms

• Within 5 years the majority of the labor force on large

dairy farms (≥ 300 milking stock) will be Spanish-

speaking and nearly all will have at least on Spanish-

speaking worker (Jenkins et al., 2009) .

• Spanish-speaking workers are significantly younger

than their English-speaking counterparts (30s vs 50s)

(Jenkins et al., 2009).

• Predicted that within 5 years nearly all large dairy

farms (≥300 milking stock) will employ at least one

Spanish-speaking worker (Jenkings et al., 2009).

7

Emerging Latino Workforce on

Dairy Farms Cont’d• Longer Hours, Lower Wages, High Concentration in Entry-Level: Spanish-speaking workers put in longer hours than

English workers (45+ vs @ 60)(Jenkins et al., 2009).

oView is that they have come to work while here;

“The tendency of Spanish- Speaking workers to work longer hours may in time result in an overall decrease in workforce size (fewer workers working longer hours) (Jenkins et al, 2009).

Latinos are heavily concentrated in the entry level positions on dairy farms with few in management positions (Stack et al., 2006; Valentine, 2005; Wilber, Hadley & Miller, 2007)

8

Issues that Arise with

Immigrant and Latino Workers• Language Gaps:

English speaking management, Spanish speaking employeeso Need for interpreters, bilingual staff, materials and training.

Spanish may be a second language from some employees.o Members of ethnic groups indigenous to Mexico and Central America

• Cultural Gaps (Román-Muñiz et al., 2007):

Hispanic /Latino or Mexican, Guatemalan, etc?o There are language and cultural differences among Latinos due to regional

and/or national particularities Most Immigrant and Latino workers on dairy farms are from Mexico and Central

America (Baker & Chappelle, 2012).

Different frameworks for understanding illnesses and causes of illnesses

Collectivism more than individualism – person-oriented cultures vsmeans to an end

Degree of expressiveness – use and interpretation of non-verbal cues

Degree of context in communication – context dependent vsabstraction

Cultural differences in authority and respect

9

Examples of Communication Issues• Differences in meanings of common terms:

In Mexico, “coche” means car. In Guatemala, “coche” means pig.

• Authority:

To question the “expert” or supervisor may be seen as rude or offensive (Román-Muñiz, Van Metre & Garry, 2007).

• Communication to exchange information vs. building relationships (Morales 2005):

Instrumentalism vs building rapport and group cohesion

• Differing cultural and religious holidays from Americans:

día de la Virgen de Guadalupe

día de los Tres Reyes

• Jokes about a racial ethnic group, or a particular person because of his/her racial ethnic background are always problematic in the workplace, especially when there is ethnic mix.

10

Issues that Arise with

Immigrant and Latino Workers Con’td• Racism, Prejudice, and Discrimination

“Societal stereotypes, racism, and simply feeling uncomfortable with people who are unlike them are all issues that can cause difficulties between the local work force and community, and new Hispanic workers (Stup and Maloney, 2003).”

Stereotypes thought to be “positive” can be negative and evidence of prejudice and racism

Includes perceptions about country of origin.

• Management Changes:

Employer may be key contact for access to housing, transportation, information on social services, and other daily needs (rides to town for shopping needs, doctor visits, etc) (Valentine, 2005).

Managers report the need to overcome language barriers, become culturally sensitive, and become more involved in the day-to-day needs of their employees (Stup and Maloney, 2003).

There is also concern with federal immigration law, status, visas, etc.

11

Emerging Support

• Tools of the trade are under development. Initial versions of “culturally sensitive education, training and translation tools” have been developed by land grant universities and agricultural agencies to help farms owners manage the changing dairy workforce (Stack 2006; Jenkins et al., 2009)

• Advice to employers (Maloney, 1999) Be calm and patient when dealing with Hispanic employees.

Hire more than one Hispanic employee to avoid problems of loneliness and isolation.

Treat your Hispanic employees just like you would treat non-Hispanic employees.

• More depth in terms of cultural and language issues is required

12

Emerging best practices• Training sessions should include:

Small group discussions

Interactive two-way communication

Visual aids & examples

Practice time – hands-on sessions (Román-Muñiz, Van Metre & Garry, 2007).

• Management practices that encourage outstanding performance (Stup and Maloney, 2003): Performance feedback

Daily communication

Expressions of courtesy and respect

Training

Expressing interest in individuals

Communicating work expectations

Rewards

• Acknowledgement of good performance

13

Examples

• Examples of workplace adaptations made in the

workplace (Wilber et al 2007):

Employees from the different group backgrounds seeking to learn

the language of the others (managers, not so much);

Farm managers allowing the employees to be involved in the

recruiting, hiring and training processes;

Farm managers offering training in the employee’s native language;

Farm managers adjusting the work schedule to accommodate the

immigrant employee’s need for religious and Mexican holiday

observations;

Immigrant employees adjusting their perspective of time, deadlines,

and schedules to the U.S. business perspective.

14

Persisting Issues

• Developing effective training programs for foreign-born

Latino workers in mastitis prevention and reduction of

antimicrobial drug use

Are there any programs in place today?

Are the training programs effective?

How do we know?

What are the components of effective training programs for Latino

workers on dairy farms?

Are some components more effective than others?

Which contribute the most to protocol adherence?

15

Pilot Focus Group Findings

• Training needs on mastitis prevention; educate workers on the issues and practices regarding mastitis prevention

• Consistency in protocol compliance across workers and across work shifts

• Personal acknowledgement of workers by owners/managers Workplace goodies – sweet bread, etc.

Reinforcement of work well done

• Incentives for performance (bonus pay)

• Worker turnover rates – tied to issues above Undermines consistency in protocol compliance

• Disagreements among top-level supervisors undermine consistency in protocol compliance

16

Selected References• Baker, D., & Chappelle, D. (2012). Health Status and Needs of Latino Dairy Farmworkers in

Vermont. Journal of Agromedicine, 17(3), 277–287.

• Hoppe, R. A., & Banker, D. E. (2010). Structure and Finances of U.S. Farms. Economic Information Bulletin No. 66. Washington, DC: USDA.

• Jenkins, P. L., Stack, S. G., May, J. J., & Earle-Richardson, G. (2009). Growth of the Spanish-speaking workforce in the Northeast dairy industry. Journal of Agromedicine, 14(1), 58–65.

• Maloney, T. R. (1999). Management of Hispanic Employees On New York Dairy Farms: A Survey of Farm Managers (No. EB 99-19). Ithaca, NY: Department of Agricultural, Resource, and Managerial Economics College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; Cornell University.

• Martin, J. H. (1981). Trends in Dairy Manufacturing Education During the Past Twenty-Five Years. Journal of Dairy Science, 64, 900–905.

• Morales, M. (2005). How to make the most of my multicultural workforce. In Proceedings of the 42nd Florida Dairy Production Conference, V. 23. Retrieved from http://dairy.ifas.ufl.edu/dpc/2005/Morales.pdf.

• Nott, S. B., Kauffman, D. E., & Speicher, J. A. (1981). Trends in the Management of Dairy Farms Since 1956. Journal of Dairy S, 64, 1330–1343.

• Powell, J. M., Russelle, M. P., & Martin, N. P. (2010). The United States: Trends in the dairy industry and their implications for producers and the environment. In P. Gerber, H. A. Mooney, J. Dijkman, S. Tarawali, & C. de Haan (Eds.). Livestock in a Changing Landscape. V. 2., Experiences and Regional Perspectives. (Pp. 115-139). London: Island Press.

17

References Cont’d• Román-Muñiz, I. N., Van Metre, D. C., & Garry, F. B. (2007). Dairy Worker Training Experiences.

In Proceedings of the 40th Annual Conference, American Association of Bovine Practitioners, vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 20-22 Sept. (Pp. 38-40). Retrieved from http://www.cvmbs.colostate.edu/ilm/proinfo/cdn/2007/Noa%20worker%20training.pdf.

• Shields, D. (2010). Consolidation and Concentration in the U.S. Dairy Industry. Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service.

• Stack, S. G., Jenkins, P. L., Earle-Richardson, G., Ackerman, S., & May, J. J. (2006). Spanish-Speaking Dairy Workers in New York, Pennsylvania, and Vermont. Journal of Agromedicine, 11(2), 37–44.

• Stup, R. E., & Maloney, T. R. (2003). Managing Hispanic workers: Perceptions of agricultural managers. Penn State: College of Agricultural Sciences, Cooperative Extension. Retrieved from http://www.telcom.uvm.edu/extension/agriculture/faccp/files/research/managinghispworkers.pdf.

• Valentine, B. E. (2005). Uniting Two Cultures: Latino Immigrants in Wisconsin’s Dairy Industry. University of California, San Diego. Retrieved from http://ccis.ucsd.edu/PUBLICATIONS/wrkg121.pdf

• Wilber, N., Hadley, G., & Miller, Z. (2007). Producer Perceptions: Diverse Workforce Acceptance on Wisconsin Dairy Farms and Farming Communities--Outagamie County. University of Wisconsin: UW-River Falls, UW-Extension, and Center for Dairy Profitability. Retrieved from http://139.225.32.110/CAFES/upload/Outagamie-county-diversity-report.pdf.

18