BYRON CENTER, Mich. — Rod er Dic Farm in Byron Center was facing an uncertain future, with labor shortages affecting their ability to care for their dairy herds. That was before the local community stepped up to help them find the workers they needed.
After the labor shortage at the farm was brought to light, people connected with the farm took to social media to ask for help finding workers who will keep the farm going.
Running the farm with her husband, Paul, Sherry Meyer said that, since their plea, they've been inundated with calls seeking to offer them help.
"We've had overwhelming response to all the social media posts," Meyer said.
Having received immense support, Meyer said the next task will be going through the calls to find people who are prepared for the physical work associated with the farm and who will be willing to stick with it.
"In the end, we've had a lot of people come, a lot of people show up once or twice. And it's hard work, it's demanding work. It's physically taxing. It's back-breaking."
From what statewide organizations have found, the situation faced by the Meyers is far from an isolated incident.
Loren Koeman with the Michigan Farm Bureau said that difficulty in finding workers has plagued farmers across Michigan.
"Labor is one of the key challenges right now for farms in Michigan," Koeman said. "The key types of farms that need a lot of labor are dairy, for example, because cows need to be milked twice a day on a regular schedule, seven days a week, 365 days a year. They don't take vacation for Christmas or holidays or weekends or anything."
The response they have received from the community, however, has given Meyer added hope for the future of her farm — hope that she believes is essential to her livelihood.
"You'll discover, with farmers, there's always hope," Meyer said. "We are the most hopeful workforce, I think, on Earth. We put all of our hope and dreams in the weather. Everything we do is a crap shoot, it's a gamble. So, we're always hopeful."
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