July 02, 2025

Financial investment to improve the workforce culture

31 minutes

Employees are a valuable asset on the farm and there are specific financial investments a farm can make to improve workforce culture. Dairy Stream host, Joanna Guza, and guest, Brad Herkenhoff discuss the following topics:

What is employee culture

Small financial investments to improve culture

Large financial investments

Gifts and financial incentives

ROI on positive work culture

Technology

Documenting a plan to improve

Goals

Resources

Trends

This episode is brought to you by Compeer Financial.

About the guest

Brad Herkenhoff is a Senior Dairy Lending Specialist at Compeer Financial. His primary role at Compeer is to work closely with dairy clients providing industry expertise in finance strategy. He is committed to working with dairy farm families on identifying their goals and helping to work towards them. He works with dairies in MN and western WI. Brad was born and raised near Freeport, MN where his family operated a dairy farm. His brother and sister-in-law have taken over the family farm; however, Brad is still active in the farm primarily helping with field work as needed. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance at St. Cloud State University and has been in the Ag lending industry for 17 years prior to joining Compeer. He is active in local and community events and has been involved in the dairy industry his whole life.

Resources

Workable Workforce Series: Recruiting and onboarding talent

Workable Workforce Series: Retention and Engagement

Workable Workforce Series: Coaching and Counseling

Workable Workforce Series: HR management and legal matters

Compeer Financial is proud partner of Dairy Stream. Learn more about Dairy Stream sponsorship.

This podcast is produced by the Voice of Milk, a collaboration of individual dairy organizations working to improve the future of dairy farm families. Become a sponsor, share an idea or feedback by emailing [email protected].

Join us at Dairy Strong on January 14-15 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Gain timely political updates, dive into the dynamics of producer-processor relationships and learn strategies to sustain a stronger future for dairy through innovation and collaboration. United together, we’re leading with purpose—one person, one policy and one farm at a time. To learn more, visit dairystrong.org.

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