Attracting and Retaining Staff in the Red Meat Industry

Summary

Despite the importance of the on-farm red meat industry and the unique employment opportunities it offers, many employers face major challenges in attracting and retaining workers. The low and declining availability of labour is a major constraint. Low job application rates, high staff turnover and shortages of experienced labour increase labour costs and reduce enterprise efficiency. 
A 2007 survey by MLA and AWI (B.NBP.0370) examined the issues affecting attraction and retention of skilled rural labour for beef cattle and sheep enterprises. It has been six years since the inaugural survey and the outlook for employment in the agriculture industry is still uncertain. While there are predictions for modest growth for jobs in the industry in the next four years, unpredictable conditions (especially around climate variability and market volatility) make it difficult to project exactly what will happen to employment levels. In 2013, a repeat of the survey study was commissioned by MLA, focusing on the on-farm red meat industry (northern beef, southern beef, and lamb and sheep meat). 
This study delves further into the issues faced by employers in the industry now, determines changes over time, and identifies current and practical strategies to address the emerging and ongoing issues. The study identifies the drivers of attraction and retention for each of the red meat sub-sectors and estimates the size and impact of challenges in these areas for farming enterprises. The report concludes with recommendations for the industry as a whole and for individual farms.