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Considerations for hiring flexible or temporary staff for your farm business

Bonnie Johnson, Marketing Associate

November 27, 2019

1 Min Read
Farmworkers

Agriculture companies use a variety of flexible staffing approaches, with flexibility in schedule and work from home options the most common. Additionally, employment of part-time, temporary, contractors and skilled seasonal workers are also considered a viable approach to flexible staffing.

Nearly half of ag companies surveyed by AgCareers.com employ skilled seasonal staff, typically from one to three months of the year. Due to the cyclical nature of crop production, this makes perfect sense. Nearly one-third of agribusinesses also said they employ temporary or contract staff for less than three months per year (AgCareers.com Agribusiness HR Review).

You may hear this employment type referred to as contract, seasonal, temporary, interim, casual, contingent, freelance, or consultant, depending on the hiring organization and the work expected. 

Before you hire temporary staff, answer these questions:

  • What are the expectations for hours per day/week?

  • How long is the position expected to last?

  • Is the work period dependent on completion of a specific task?

  • What, if any, benefits are included with this role?

  • Will there be a possibility for a full-time position afterward?

Candidate targets for these types of positions include workers who have recently relocated, those searching for part-time/flexible work, recent lay-offs, people wishing to build their work experience, or those looking for a little extra cash. Oftentimes, these temporary workers are interested in continued employment, so they are focused on their performance, developing skills, and strive to build relationships.

To see what other agribusinesses are doing, check out the AgCareers.com Agribusiness HR Review online.

The opinions of the author are not necessarily those of Farm Futures or Farm Progress. 

About the Author(s)

Bonnie Johnson

Marketing Associate, Agcareers.com

As Marketing Associate at AgCareers.com, Bonnie Johnson works on both internal and external communications, email marketing, company branding and market research projects. Bonnie was raised on a farm in Northeast Iowa and received her undergraduate degree from the University of Northern Iowa and her Masters from Iowa State University. Bonnie has been with AgCareers.com since 2010.  AgCareers.com is a leading online career site and human resource service provider for the agriculture, food, natural resources and biotech industries.

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