A new generation of farm labour arises

Speaking at the annual Sponsors Luncheon at the University of WA last Friday, Mr Curwen spoke, in part, on the challenges of farm labour and strategies to retain staff.

"The Gen Ys and Millenials are not driven by money," he said.

"They work to live, not live to work.

"They are different people to Baby Boomers."

The nods in the audience confirmed as a truism Mr Curwen's statement.

His scholarship report focused on investigating how good management of broadacre farming enterprises can ensure productivity and profitability.

Mr Curwen, South Stirling, farms with his partner Elsa Piggott and his parents Derek and Kim and is the designated cropping manager of a 7000 hectare cropping program.

The Curwens also have 2000ha of pasture and carry 9000 Merino ewes.

Ironically, the family employ no labour but are well equipped as future employers.

"With a family farm, the family structure and business strategic plan needs to be clear before you start managing external labour sources," Mr Curwen said.

"Scale naturally has an influence but the ability to manage that scale is what I am focused on because demands of staff, plant, finance and managing large properties is challenging."

Mr Curwen said by 2020 the majority of farm employees would be Gen Ys and Millenials and on average they would stay on a farm for two years.

"So one of the challenges is the next generation of farm labour force," he said.

During his overseas tour, he discovered what he terms as the "benchmark farm".

"I visited a 30,000 acre (12,146ha) corn and wheat farm in Kansas and the owners had nailed the labour element," he said.

"With nine full-time employees, they didn't have problems with staff turnovers.

"They had staff delegate jobs among themselves and promoted the aspect that it was their business, even providing them with business cards.

"Staff felt that they were important and they understood the core values of the business, to the extent of understanding the employer's vision.

"Weekly meetings and job descriptions helped to give them a sense of responsibility."

Mr Curwen said the focus was about empowering staff and delegating responsibility.

"It is critical to staff retention and is the single-most important tool when it comes to defining roles," he said.

In Germany he picked up wisdom from local manufacturer Michael Horsch, which was to "teach, teach, teach".

In terms of the farm labour shortage, Mr Curwen said there was an untapped resource of Eastern States graduates looking for work.

"There are about 800 students a year looking for work on the east coast," he said.

"I think it's a matter of promoting your community and your business to attract the right people."

When asked about whether a bonus system would work to retain staff, Mr Curwen was quick to respond.

"It doesn't work," he said.

"It becomes an expectancy.

"There are no stand-out strategies, it's more of a personal approach.

"Be patient with training the new kids and teaching old dogs new tricks and look for a good balance between young and old labour.

"The next generation of labour force want to be part of the business so maybe that might mean leasing some land to staff or having short term contracts with options.

"The problem of retaining staff is a tough one and at some stage you might have to accept they'll move on."