Jake Seuren has had his fair share of difficulties in finding skilled farmers to help out at his Lang Lang, Vic, dairy farm, Gippsland Jersey.
"I'm in a fortunate position that most of my labour is family with my old man and step sister helping out on this farm, but we do employ a couple of casual employees," he said.
"It's just [hard] finding someone that is skilled enough to operate expensive equipment, especially in terms of our contracting business, and you don't want them just jumping in there, wrecking that sort of stuff because you have a care factor there."
Mr Seuren said a focus on training the right people who were willing to work casual rates had been successful for him, but he also believed it was "getting harder each and every year".
"We mainly employ casual workers for the contracting side of things like hay and silage, and that is just really weather dependent as well, which is sometimes hard for people to understand," he said.
While he doesn't hire skilled migrants on his farm, Mr Seuren believed it was more beneficial to employ locals who were willing to put in the effort to work early mornings.
But he said concerted efforts to foster careers locally needed to be a priority for the sector.
"Rosters where people aren't working overtime is important, and giving a healthy work-life balance is what people are seeking," he said.
"There just needs to be positive promotion of the dairy sector which attracts more people, and things like (ex-AFL player) Jonathon Brown being an ambassador is a great start."
United Dairyfarmers of Victoria president Mark Billing said he had heard frustrations from local dairy farmers over the cost and red tape in employing skilled migrants.
"The wheels definitely need to be greased, it just takes way too long, and there is a lot of money involved," he said.
"The money you have to put upfront, the time it takes, it just really is a big investment, and there are no guarantees that you will get the right person.
"From a visa point of view, a reduction in bureaucracy and the red tape at all levels of government needs to happen to enable us to get the workforce that we need for today's dairy farms, which is different to 20 years ago."
He said keeping skilled migrants settled and retained on a farm long term was challenging due to "various reasons".
Mr Billing was also aware of farms in his region that offered high casual rates that attracted younger staff, which could suit a particular lifestyle and offered easy solutions for farms who needed staff quickly.
But he said skilled local farm workers willing to work long term were also becoming the norm.
Local agricultural colleges and initiatives like the Agricultural College Modernisation Program had also fostered development for young people looking for a career, rather than a quick buck.
"We employed a young person straight out of Longerenong College recently," Mr Billing said.
"The dairy industry has worked extensively with TAFEs and other education providers for quite some time to build up a local workforce, whether it be through a certificate or a diploma.
"Agriculture science degrees are also becoming a key thing for our industry, because our businesses are becoming more complex, and that level of education needs to be with our staff."
Agriculture Minister Gayle Tierney said more skills training options were important in growing a local workforce through dairy-focused areas.
"Our training providers in regional and rural communities are ensuring we tackle the agriculture skills shortages by providing more training opportunities throughout the state, in communities such as Gippsland, the Goulburn Valley and Albury-Wodonga," Ms Tierney said.
However, Mr Billing called on the state government to address a lack of housing options, which he said was one of many factors stymieing the growth of local employment in the dairy sector.
"It's been difficult in different areas around planning rules, building that extra house for staff," he said.
"The further away you get from town centres the harder it is to get low-cost housing too."
Want to read more stories like this?
Sign up below (select Dairy News) to receive our e-newsletter delivered fresh to your email inbox twice a week.
