Industry insight

I have vivid memories of life growing up on a dairy farm. When I look back I am amazed at the many dangerous work practices and the attitudes of the time.

When I returned to dairy farming in 1982 I noticed that attitudes were changing. Most machinery was guarded, efforts were being made to develop efficient farm operating systems, and quality management programs, such as Milkcare and Cattlecare, helped us improve our business.

In the past nine years I have been involved in corporate agriculture where occupational health and safety is paramount. Systems have been developed to ensure the safety and productivity of the people working on the farms and farm employees have been involved in the development and review of these systems.

Now all the working machinery is guarded, helmets are always worn when riding motorbikes, all new staff complete an induction program before commencing work, and the business and contractors are adequately insured. Farm workplace systems and the commitment of our staff to them ensures compliance with the farm’s policy and legal requirements for incident management, equal opportunity, sexual harassment, anti-discrimination, workplace bullying and dispute management.

Farms will continue to grow in size and with them the complexity associated with managing large herds and more staff. To grow the business successfully requires simple farm systems developed around people rather than adapting people to complicated farm systems. We are proud of our people and the quality product that we produce together.

Trevor Westacott
Coorong Dairies, Meningie SA*
* Trevor has recently moved and is now Manager at TVG, Timboon, Victoria.

 

Introduction

Policies, procedures and systems provide an invisible ‘structure’ to the business that helps everyone understand how and why things should be done.

The foundation of this structure is the farming system itself (for example, high versus low input, seasonal versus year-round calving) and the technology investment. People and tasks are then organised to achieve the farming system required. Do you have the best farm system in place for your business? It is important to consider whether you are farming in a way that best suits your capabilities and resources.

As a business grows it becomes increasingly important to have documented systems for the smooth running of the farm. You can’t personally oversee everything that is done and there is an increasing requirement to demonstrate safe and ethical business management through formal documentation.

If all systems are fully integrated the business is more likely to be able to achieve its potential. Well-designed policies, procedures and systems ensure that quality management and legal compliance are taken care of automatically as people go about their jobs. This means less duplication, less hassle, a safer workplace and a more profitable business.

Integration of all operations, policies and procedures into a farm business manual provides an all-in-one document that guides the business.

Everyone on the farm should be involved in the development of the document so they ‘own’ it and are willing to use it.

In this module there are tools and templates designed to reduce the ‘office time’ needed for setting up a farm business manual.

This module was reviewed for The People in Dairy by Chris Hibburt, Andrew Sullivan and Jennifer Corkhill.