Words by: Anne Hardie
If the dairy industry wants to compete with other industries for the best talent, it needs to be competitive with rosters and working conditions.
Cameron Walker is Pamu Farms’ dairy business manager on the West Coast, overseeing 10 dairy farms, three dairy support units and two machinery syndicates that employ up to 65 permanent and 20 seasonal employees. Throughout the year, staff average five days on, two days off and never work more than six days on before getting two days off. The rosters are flexible to cover the busiest periods through the year, while still meeting that average.
“I honestly think it’s been really good from a health and safety point of view and managing fatigue, but also for attracting staff.”
He says staff turnover has decreased since the new roster was introduced and the business is attracting more people.
“I think it’s a big ask for someone to work 11 days in a row on a salary-based contract and from a health and safety point of view, that’s challenging.”
The traditional sharemilking pathway to farm ownership has changed a fair bit over the years, he says. Fewer people entering the industry now view that goal as achievable. Many of those entering the dairy industry now are seeking farm management as their goal, as opposed to ownership. For dairying to compete with any other industry to attract the best talent, he says it has to offer similar working conditions, attractive salaries and a good lifestyle.
He admits he was not keen on the five-day roster when it was first mooted.
Born and bred in the dairy industry, he went on to sharemilk for 15 years and then an equity partnership. Being self-employed, there were no set rules around time off. Instead, it was a case of “the more you put in, the more you get out”.
“So the five-on and two-off was completely foreign to me. It still seems like you get a holiday every week.
“I was lucky I sharemilked when I did. But the opportunities are less than they were. The pathways to farm ownership are still there, but they are getting harder. Ask an 18-year-old to come and work 11-on and three-off for the next 20 years without the carrot of farm ownership.”
The average age of dairy farmers in New Zealand is getting older and Cameron says it is more important than ever to attract young talent. Rosters are just part of the solution and he says the industry needs to work out clear career pathways for the talent it wants to attract. He says there is still a lot to be done in this area.
“We want the dairy industry to be the best industry in New Zealand and to do that we need the best people.”
