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We are looking for some extra help during the summer. This isn’t anything new. It seems every year we need help with chores, lawn mowing, feeding calves, pitching pens, covering the bunkers and other miscellaneous tasks. We have asked all of our helpers if they have any friends or family who would want to do about 20-30 hours a week working on our farm. They didn’t have any luck finding anyone.
The crew we have helping us is a few high school kids. One has his driver’s license and recently graduated and is motivated by a nice paycheck. The other two are younger and have to be driven to the farm by family members, and they can only work a structured schedule because of the drive time to and from the farm. They like to keep busy and help do farm things. All of them are very into working on our farm.
We simply need one more person to cover the times when we all would like to go out together or during summer vacations, so we don’t get too burned out covering all of the shifts. Even with the robotic milking system, we are in the barn many hours pushing through new cows and working the maternity pen. Calf chores are extremely important, and we have an easy system to get calves fed and pens cleaned. We need one more person.
Anna put a post on Facebook to search for anyone interested in working at our farm.     
“Farm help wanted, 20-30 hours, $10-$20 per hour depending on experience. Must have a reliable working vehicle.”
She gave our address and a comment to send us a message if interested.
Facebook took the ad down. The ad was removed because, Facebook tells us, the job posting violates Facebook’s job policies because they are discriminatory.
I don’t understand how wanting help is discriminatory. Perhaps it was the part about a reliable working vehicle? Perhaps someone could bike or walk to work.
So, Anna resubmitted an ad. It didn’t take long, and the post was flagged again for being discriminatory. So, she re-posted it saying simply, “Help wanted.”
Again, the same message from Facebook.
That really threw a wrench into looking for someone through this social media plan. For a last chance, she titled the job as a farm technician, which makes the job position sound as if the person looking is going to have to have highly technical skills; not the case for someone who will be mowing the lawn and cleaning calf pens.
The world economy would not go around without farmers and farm hands. There is nothing discriminatory about working on a farm. We have the most important job in the world; feeding, clothing and powering the world.
Farming and finding good help are already hard enough; please don’t make it any harder. Facebook is discriminating against agriculturalists by claiming our jobs and titles of work are worthy of being discriminated. I will never be ashamed of my title as a farmer and farm hand.
We have put a sign by the road: Farm help wanted.
Tina Hinchley, and her husband,  Duane, daughter Anna, milk 240 registered Holsteins with robots.  They also farm 2300 acres of crops near Cambridge, Wisconsin.  The Hinchley’s have been hosting farm tour for over 25 years.

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