From 20 cows to 50 million litres
people. Some people come just to get the next $50 together to get a tank of gas to get to the next city.
“Others are looking to save $50,000 to build a house back home. But most Americans aren’t interested in doing this work. It’s not because it’s the lowest paying — the minimum wage is about $7.50/hr, and Walmart pays about €8/hr. We pay a minimum of $10.50, rising to $16/hr in the parlour. But it’s not about the money — it’s considered dirty work,” says Elliott.
The situation is compounded in South Dakota where there is effectively full employment courtesy of the oil boom that came with fracking in the region.
Despite investing in psychological profiling for management, and culture profiling for the entire business, staff turnover remains one of the biggest challenges at close to 40pc annually.
That might explain why the next 850 cows that Rodney is already planning to add on is going to be milked by robots. ÷Rodney Elliott started milking 20 cows in 1982. He now sells more milk per day (135,000 litres) than he produced during that first year. He expects to sell 50m litres of milk this year. ÷He visited the US a number of times with his wife Dorothy when South Dakota was canvassing European farmers to set up new dairy units, partly to utilise the vast amounts of grain being grown in the region. ÷ In 2006 Rodney sold his 200ac farm and 150 cow dairy herd in Fermanagh to his brother and moved with his wife and three children to Lake Norden, with a population of 471. ÷ The couple were able to buy 300ac and build a unit for 1,500 cows within six months. They now own over 1,000ac and recently bought a further 160ac, which they flagged for the bank on the way to the auction. Over $20m has been invested in cow facilities, “but I don’t own anything anymore — it’s all in a family trust,” says Elliott. ÷ The current site is maxed out with 4,500 cows and 60 million gallons of slurry that has to be pumped up to six miles from the site. Despite close monitoring from the US EPA, the Elliotts are allowed to spread up to 32,000 gallons per acre, which supplies about 450 units of nitrogen for maize crops. ÷The cows are a mix of Friesian, Jersey and Norwegian Red, averaging 11,000 litres and a 385 day calving interval. ÷Rodney expects to end up with a net profit in 2016, despite lower milk prices. ÷Bull calves routinely make €150 at a week old, and almost double this during 2014. This includes Jersey crossbreds, which are fattened in feedlots in less than 20 months. ÷ The most recently built cow shed that houses 2,300 cows covers 6.5ac, and measures 750ft long.