Holbrook Landcare Network

Supporting On-Farm Labour During the Dry Times

Co-Designing Job Security and Development in Farming Communities During Drought

Efficiency - LEP_23-020_LLC08

The issue

In mid-2023 it became apparent that like many regions Holbrook and its local producers have been facing the challenge of attracting and retaining young, skilled workers on-farm.

To tackle this issue Holbrook Landcare Network, with the support of the Southern NSW Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub initiated the Supporting On-Farm Labour During the Dry Times Project. Characterised by its co-design process, this project collaborated with farmers, farm staff, job seekers and industry experts to identify the root causes of employment and retention challenges and explore potential solutions. This co-design process facilitates knowledge exchange between farm business owners, peers and professionals to identify and address challenges.

The solution

There were many moving part to this project in order to tease-out the challenges local producers face when looking to recruit into their businesses and what barriers job seekers faced with taking up an on-farm job.  We conducted a series of co-design workshops centered on the key question “What solutions can be developed to attract, retain and upskill on-farm staff in the Holbrook region and increase job security during the dry times?"

Local producers shared their experience in managing farm labour and their innovative ideas to collaboratively design solutions. Future job seekers contributed via an On-Farm Labour Perceptions Survey at Charles Sturt University Approaching Ag Careers Fair.

The impact

Full On-Farm Labour Final Report: At the conclusion of this project Holbrook Landcare Network compiled a report to collate the insights gained from this process into the factors and barriers impacting farm business attraction and retention of on-farm staff, and the perceptions of on-farm roles from the perspective of young, future workers. This report also considers the ideas and solutions proposed by both producer and young workforce co-design participants and contributors to provide a preliminary list of recommendations and potential actions for pursual at local, industry and the Hub level. 

The key findings and recommendations are presented in the On-Farm Labour Final Report.

This project has been supported by the Southern NSW Drought Adoption and Innovation Hub and the Future Drought Fund.

Author: Jess Armstrong

Key facts

  • Top 5 factors
  • 1. Housing & accommodation
  • 2. Skills & experience
  • 3. Isolation & social factors
  • 4. Competitive wages / terms
  • 5. Time for training & mentoring

Project Partners