Dr. Ruben Martinez, director of the Julian Samora Research Institute at Michigan State University, shares insights in the findings from focus groups and other research with dairy farm employees and their supervisors about strategies to improve their engagement. Michigan State University is a partner in the Quality Milk Alliance, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, to focus on reducing mastitis and thereby antibiotic use in dairy cows. The project is unique in conducting research on management issues concerning dairy farm employees, including Spanish-speaking workers.

1. 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

2. Objectives
2
• 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

3. 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 Size
o 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 productivity
o Dairy scientists have played a major role in helping dairy herd managers use labor
more efficiently (Nott et al, 1981).
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4. 4
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)
 Training
o 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)

5. 5
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

6. 6
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).

7. 7
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).

8. 8
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)

9. Issues that Arise with
Immigrant and Latino Workers
• Language Gaps:
 English speaking management, Spanish speaking employees
o Need for interpreters, bilingual staff, materials and training.
 Spanish may be a second language from some employees.
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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 vs
means to an end
 Degree of expressiveness – use and interpretation of non-verbal cues
 Degree of context in communication – context dependent vs
abstraction
 Cultural differences in authority and respect

10. 10
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.

11. Issues that Arise with
11
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.

12. Emerging Support
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• 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

13. 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

14. Examples
• Examples of workplace adaptations made in the
workplace (Wilber et al 2007):
14
 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.

15. 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?
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16. Pilot Focus Group Findings
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• 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

17. Selected References
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• 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.

18. References Cont’d
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• 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.