Located just a stone’s throw from Mount Gambier, South Australia, Shannon operates Burrungule Dairy alongside her husband Adrian, brother-in-law Shaun, and Adrian and Shaun’s parents Ray and Marg.
Together with a team of 12 employees, the business milks about 850 Holsteins in an 80-stand rotary dairy.
Burrungule Dairy’s newest employee has been working with the business for about a month, while some of the longest-standing workers have been part of the team for over a decade.
Regardless of experience level, Burrungule Dairy is committed to developing each team member.
“When an upskilling opportunity comes up, we always ask our people if they’d be interested in taking part,” Shannon says.
“You generally know who would be keen to do some training and who wouldn’t – but rather than making assumptions, we put it to the employees themselves.”
Over the years, Burrungule Dairy employees have been supported to complete a suite of online courses through Dairy Australia’s Enlight portal.
In addition, Burrungule Dairy has recently supported four employees to complete a Certificate III in Agriculture through TAFE SA. The fourth employee to enrol in the course had been working in the dairy for many years, but he was inspired by his fellow employees to complete the formal training.
“It’s not just the young ones who benefit from upskilling – everyone can learn something and bring that knowledge back to the business,” Shannon says.
In addition to formal training and coursework, Shannon says there is high value in learning from fellow industry members. For this reason, she regularly supports her employees to head along to Young Dairy Network events, Dairy Innovation Days, the DairySA Ladies Lunch, and other industry events.
“When employees from different businesses have the opportunity to get together outside of work, have a bit of fun in a relaxed setting, and chat with each other, they build skills and knowledge from one another, and it helps their confidence,” Shannon says.
The management team – including Shannon herself – also take the chance to upskill wherever possible. Last year, Shannon completed Women Together Learning’s Stepping Into Leadership Course. She has also completed a number of farm management and people management courses, and this year was invited to participate in the Dairy Australia Farmer Ambassador program.
In situations where Shannon wants to upskill her team as a whole – on farm – she is proactive in taking the initiative to make it happen.
Recently, she organised for a TAFE representative to run a quad bike course at Burrungule. She is considering organising similar days in the future, potentially centred around tractors and general farm safety.
“There is always room for growth and development,” Shannon says.
“When things pop up, we look at the opportunity and work out how we can make it happen.”
Shannon acknowledges that the cost of upskilling employees can sometimes be two-pronged – including the actual cost of an event, and an employee’s time off the tools while upskilling – but said the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks.
“Upskilling people gives them such a sense of achievement,” she says.
“Dairy is hard work – you have to let your team members have fun along the way, and you have to encourage them to grow.”
To find out more about how Dairy Australia provides support with employing and managing people, and building skills for successful careers in dairy farming, contact your regional team today or visit People | Dairy Australia.
