Workforce program aims to energize lagging dairy farm growth

A view of the sky and plowed fields with hay.

Photo / Courtesy Annie Watson, Sheepscot Valley Farm A workforce program could help increase the dairy industry’s pool of qualified farm workers by offering targeted training and opportunities for skills advancement.

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By Laurie Schreiber

Many dairy producers in Maine have trouble finding the workforce they need to maintain sustainable operations.

The Eastern Maine Development Corp. and the Maine Dairy Industry Association have joined forces on a program that could help increase the industry’s pool of qualified farm workers by offering targeted training and opportunities for skills advancement.

“The Maine dairy industry is a vital sector of Maine agriculture, with many dairy producers struggling to keep the barn doors open,” said Ashley Marshall, EMDC’s dairy industry workforce specialist.

"One challenge dairy farms are facing is a lack of interested and qualified employees to help complete the many different tasks required on the operation,” she said.

Bright spots, challenges

According to a November report of the Maine Dairy Task Force, Maine dairy cattle and milk in 2022 accounted for $146.8 million in direct sales and had a statewide economic impact of $230 million. The sector directly or indirectly supports 14,600 jobs and provides over $835 million in total wages.

Bright spots include automation and robotics that lower labor costs for farms that can make that investment. The number of artisan cheese makers is expanding rapidly, providing a small but growing new revenue stream for some dairies. Maine consumers are enthusiastic consumers of dairy farm products. Most farms have diversified to produce beef.

Painting a discouraging picture: milk production costs are high, federally-determined milk prices are low and certain markets are shrinking. Conditions negatively impacting the industry include market instability, inflation, processing constraints, supply chain disruptions and labor shortages.

Maine’s dairy sector shrank from 602 farms in 1994 to 140 today.

Workforce solutions

The partnership between the Eastern Maine Development Corp. and the Maine Dairy Industry Association aims to tackle the labor shortage through a program called “Enhancing Workforce Solutions for Maine's Dairy Farms,” which will provide targeted resources, including workforce solutions, job training and tools for career advancement in the dairy sector, according to a news release.

“While dairy farming is certainly not the perfect job for everyone, it can be a very rewarding experience full of opportunities for advancement,” said Annie Watson, head of the Maine Dairy Industry Association.

Photo / Courtesy Annie Watson, Sheepscot Valley Farm

While dairy farming may not be the perfect job for everyone, it can be a rewarding experience full of opportunities for advancement.

Provided Photo

Lee Umphrey, president and CEO of Eastern Maine Development Corp.

“Our partnership with the Maine Dairy Industry Association will directly impact Maine farms by increasing on-farm technical support and building the workforce while potentially increasing milk processing capacity in Maine,” said Lee Umphrey, EMDC’s president and CEO.

The program is funded by $700,000 in Congressional discretionary spending supported by U.S. Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Angus King, I-Maine, Umphrey told Mainebiz.

The program came about when the dairy association approach EMDC about partnering to boost the sustainability of dairy farms in Maine. EMDC is connecting the industry with its workforce development programs to help the farms find and keep workers.

Marshall's role as workforce specialist will including working with the dairy association. Her role is to identify different issues, concerns and challenges the industry is facing, and to leverage EMDC resources and opportunities to boost its success.

“We’ve created a strong connection to our workforce development programs,” Umphrey said. “We’ll help identify farmworkers, train them and also work with farmers on how to supervise workers and look at ways we can enhance their marketing, their use of technology and boost everything they’re doing so they can remain competitive in a challenging market.”

It’s still early days for the rollout. The task includes a survey of dairy farms to quantify what the existing workforce consists of, what types of workers are needed and how many.

EMDC has various workforce development programs and is involved with the Maine Apprenticeship Program and other initiatives that form pipelines for workers and help match people’s interests and skills with what farms need, Umphrey noted.

Overall, by empowering farms with the tools and resources needed to thrive, the initiative reinforces the importance of agriculture in Maine’s economy and secures its role in supporting local communities for generations to come, he added.

“In our view, agriculture in Maine needs to be assisted to play a more prominent role,” he said. “Programs like this will help the sustainability of the dairy industry and agriculture in general.”