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Articles by Jim Versweyveld
There's opportunity in 'near misses'
Farms are fast-paced demanding workplaces where the potential for injury or costly mishap can lurk around every corner. With multiple tasks underway at once, employees of varying experience levels, long hours, unpredictable weather and often heavy equipment in motion, risks are ever-present.
There’s opportunity in ‘near misses’ Original
Hernando Duarte and Jim Versweyveld University of Wisconsin Farms are fast-paced demanding workplaces where the potential for injury or costly mishap can lurk around every corner. With multiple tasks underway at once, employees of varying experience levels, long hours, unpredictable weather and often heavy equipment in motion, risks are ever-present.
There’s opportunity in ‘near misses’
Farms are fast-paced demanding workplaces where the potential for injury or costly mishap can lurk around every corner. With multiple tasks underway at once, employees of varying experience levels, long hours, unpredictable weather and often heavy equipment in motion, risks are ever-present.
There’s Opportunity in Those “Near Misses” on Your Farm
Read in: English | Español Farms are fast-paced, high-demand workplaces where the potential for injury or costly mishap can lurk around every corner. With multiple tasks underway at once, employees of varying experience levels, long hours, unpredictable weather, and often heavy equipment in motion, risks are ever-present.
Heat exposure kills more people each year than floods, tornadoes, lightning, and hurricanes combined
Each summer, dairy farm producers and their employees work through days of extreme heat and humidity – often starting in May or June and continuing into September. While we certainly need to protect our dairy cattle during these hot days, it is also an important time to be conscious of how to protect ourselves and our dairy farm workers during summer heat. Heat-related illness can develop quickly and progress to deadly stages.
First impressions matter: Take steps to improve the employee onboarding experience on your dairy
“Onboarding" refers to the process in which new hires are integrated into the organization. It includes activities that allow new employees to complete an initial new-hire orientation process, as well as learn more about your dairy farm and its structure, culture, vision, mission and values. When onboarding is done well, it lays a foundation for long-term success for both the employee and the employer.
Protect your lungs from invisible hazards
Efforts to keep yourself and your workers safe should include a look at potential respiratory hazards anyone who works on a dairy farm may encounter. Dairy producers are routinely exposed to a wide variety of respiratory hazards on the farm, including dusts, molds, vapors and gases. Let’s explore some of the primary risks including grain dust, manure storage and farm chemicals, along with steps you should take to keep lungs healthy.
Keeping your people cool and comfortable is key to good health
Each summer, dairy producers and their employees work through days of extreme heat and humidity. In recent years, the “dog days” of summer with high heat and humidity levels have started earlier, and dangerous conditions are occurring with a greater frequency in many dairy regions of the country. While we need to protect our dairy cattle during these hot days, it is also an important time to be conscious of how to protect ourselves, family members and farm workers.
Don't get beat by the summertime heat
John Shutske and Jim Versweyveld Summertime can be a big challenge for farmers and their employees as they work through long days with high temperatures and humidity levels. We usually begin to hear about heat stress in the later weeks of May or early June through shortly after Labor Day. In recent years, the ‘dog days’ of summer with high heat and humidity have started earlier and earlier, and dangerous conditions occur more often.
Develop an organizational chart for your farm business
Organizational (org) charts are a visual depiction of your farm’s staffing structure. They define roles and clearly illustrate “who reports to whom,” with connecting lines showing accountability and reporting relationships. An org chart for your farm can help keep things running smoothly and efficiently by providing the following benefits: Helping with onboarding new employees by clearly showing who to go to with questions.
Anhydrous ammonia: It’s time to review employee safety
It’s a sure sign of spring when we see those white steel cylindrical tanks again beginning to dot the landscape. Spring is also a great time to review your farm’s anhydrous ammonia safety program with employees, so it’s top-of-mind as they begin field work. Used extensively as a source of nitrogen fertilizer due to its relative ease of application and wide availability, the obvious downside of its use is the serious hazard it presents to workers during transfer and application.
What’s In Your Farm Employee’s “Hidden Paycheck?”
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Your farm employees are the backbone of your operation. You’ve worked hard to recruit them and can’t afford to lose them, but does their total compensation reflect how valued they are?
By Taylor Leach Verified, Jim Versweyveld, Dan Hueber, Stephanie Mercier, Stéphanie Mercier Verified
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AgWeb
Verified
Does your dairy have a disaster plan?
JoeDphoto/Getty images MAP IT OUT: A detailed map of your farm is a valuable resource when disaster strikes. An aerial map is ideal, but even a hand-drawn map can be helpful to responders who are not familiar with your farm. Put together a strategy now to limit the impact a disaster could have on your farm. By Jim Versweyveld | Apr 02, 2021 Whether it’s fire, flood, wind, or injury, a disaster on your farm can cause devastating loss and requires careful planning to minimize the disruption.
Is your beef operation ready for winter?
By Jim Versweyveld With another Wisconsin winter upon us, it’s a great time to consider cold weather protection for your beef cattle. While winter’s wrath and timing will vary across our state, it’s a safe bet that all Wisconsin cattle herds will feel dangerous weather impacts over the coming months. Planning for cold temperatures and high winds can help keep your herd healthy and productive, control your feed costs, and ultimately improve your profits.
How to write farm job descriptions
By Jim Versweyveld For farm owners and managers, labor management and leadership of the team are becoming increasingly important aspects of day-to-day responsibilities. Job descriptions are a tool that can add clarity to farm tasks and procedures, helping to avoid confusion and potential disagreements about the work at hand. Important for both nonfamily employees and family members working on the farm, job descriptions can improve working relationships and keep things running smoothly.
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