January 17, 2017
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Shelly Mayer
800-947-7379
mail@pdpw.org
 
Full Media Package is available (i.e. speaker photo, flyer, press release, etc.)
  DAIRY NEWS – Finding, maintaining and enriching employees is a critical component to developing a successful dairy business. The Professional Dairy Producers® (PDPW) is assisting dairy farmers in their quest to identify and develop outstanding employees and is offering the Dairy Human Resources Workshop on January 31, February 1 & 3, 2017 to accomplish this goal.
 
The workshop theme, “Developing a Team of Eagles”, will be led by Trevina Broussard, who works as an Associate Trainer with Humetrics and Peggy Morrow & Associates. Leaving this session, dairymen will have the tools to find optimal employees for their business, develop those employees to their fullest potential and implement new processes and procedures for their dairy.

The one-day, repeating workshop is scheduled for the following dates and locations:

• Tues., Jan. 31 - La Sure’s Hall, 3125 S. Washburn Street, Oshkosh, Wis.
• Wed., Feb. 1 - Holiday Inn, 4751 Owen Ayres Ct, Eau Claire, Wis.
• Fri., Feb. 3 - Sioux County Extension Office, 400 Central Ave. NW, Orange City, Iowa

Specifically, this highly interactive training will be split into three parts: recruit the best and hire right, develop a team of eagles, and engage, retain and grow. Following these sessions, a producer panel, comprised of fellow dairy farmers, will share their challenges and successes in hiring and retaining employees.  The dairy-farmer panel includes:
 

• Doug Block, co-owner of Hunter Haven Farms with his brother Tom run a family-farm located in northwestern Illinois. Together, they run a 950-cow herd with about 1,800 acres of land.  As the farm manager, Doug manages the farms’ 25 employees, comprised of managers, feeders, over a dozen milkers and additional as-needed hired help.  Doug believes that treating their employees in a fair-minded manner, with set expectations, is the key to their success in high retention.

• Mark Diederichs, along with five other farm families, own and operate Breeze Dairy Group, which is comprised of four dairies in northeastern and central Wisconsin. As the Operations Manager at Lake Breeze Dairy, specifically, Mark leads a total of 35 team members, whom work with their 3,200-cow herd.  The farm’s culture runs in a team environment where “operational excellence” yields outstanding results, which is highly valued by current team members and sought after by newly selected employees.

• Marty Hallock is a first-generation dairy farmer in northwestern Wisconsin. He, his wife and two adult sons run Mar-Bec Dairy, a 900-cow herd, with a total of 950 heifers raised on- and off-farm.  They also work 1,800 acres of owned and rented land.  The farm is supported by 17 full-time and 10-12 part-time/as-needed team members.  Held close by both owners and employees, the farm’s culture is to build a profitable dairy as a leader by providing an environment where people and cows can excel and enjoy.  They also respect family time for owners and employees alike.

Like other training sessions, the Dairy H.R. Workshop is developed by dairy farmers, for dairy farmers, to promote profitable, sustainable businesses. Registration opens at 9:30 a.m., with training beginning at 10:00 a.m. and concluding at 4 p.m. each day.  This training has been approved by the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine (UW-SVM) for up to 5.5 Continuing Education Units. 
 
To learn more about the 2017 Dairy H.R. Workshop and to register, visit www.pdpw.org or contact PDPW at 1-800-947-7379.
 
Professional Dairy Producers (PDPW) is the nation’s largest dairy producer-led, grassroots organization of its kind, focusing on education, networking and professional development to shares ideas, solutions, resources and experiences that help dairy producers succeed.