Thanks for all the words of encouragement and support in response to my last email about having a tough week. As I mentioned then, but it deserves another mention, Julie and the kids have been an amazing help. The wrecked truck is at the body shop getting repaired (hopefully quickly). I am starting to wrap my mind around a complete staff turnover in the warehouse and on the farm. Time marches on, and it doesn't even slow down if you pout. So with that in mind getting to work is the only option. The best therapy has been to roll up my sleeves and throw myself into the day-to-day farm work. It's the kind of work that is hard and hot but provides ample opportunity to think. I've thought about a lot this week. Here is a bulleted list of my stream of consciousness.
- How can I make the farm chores more pleasant and satisfying for the next employee?
- Lugging feed buckets is the most laborious part of tending the laying hens. I think a simple feed auger to deliver feed to feeders would drastically improve that job.
- Tending to the broilers on pasture is a unique task that probably needs a work-truck-type vehicle specifically designed for that job. We created a version 1 of this a few years ago, the version 2 will be a marked improvement.
- Warehouse: A lot of labor goes into picking products and packing orders. How can we make this process more efficient? Are we performing unnecessary tasks? Can we simplify?
- I LOVE having my kids and wife play a more integral role in the day-to-day farm operation. How can I continue to encourage this, while not making them feel pressured or taken advantage of?
- It's worth taking the time to hire slowly. I only want to hire people that are a good cultural fit and find joy in the work we do.
The byproduct of all that thinking was a lot of productivity. (pictured above) I was able to move chickens out of the brooder into their pasture pens. I have been steadfastly cleaning and reorganizing the hen houses. I was even able to get a field of hay cut that will hopefully be baled tomorrow.
