FEBRUARY 2019 SEEDWORLD.COM / 27 THE PROCESS OF hiring a new employee has turned upside-down com- pared to what it was. Expecting to find a new hire with the right skills and experi- ence turns out to have been a luxury. Now we look for someone willing to work and show up on time. Bring me willing workers and I will teach them the job. Economists say, “The job market continues to be strong.” Strong for whom? It is not so darn strong for those of us who need help and want to expand our business. When I needed money as a youngster, I did whatever job I could find. I must have gotten a work ethic from my hardwork- ing, heavy equipment mechanic dad. Together we tore down houses to build our garage, poured our own concrete and worked on our own cars. Dad is not around today and was never really able to see if I would become successful. I think I am still trying to please him today. That is how work and a job are supposed to work from my perspective. Everything is changing. Interviewing a candidate has changed. Years ago, we asked about experience, job skills and work record. Now I just want to know IF they will work. For many younger appli- cants “future aspirations” is a foreign concept. It may only be a slight exaggera- tion that they are more interested in when they will get their first promotion. The building trades industry presents vivid evidence of the lack of workers willing to do the job. Home builders are lagging on new construction because they can’t find enough worker bees. Outdoor jobs like home building and seed plant construction don’t always happen in the most comfortable environments. Working outside in whatever conditions the weather can bring used to be the defi- nition of “work” but not anymore. We have to adjust how we go after new employees. Traditional incentives may not be as appealing to today’s job seekers. The quality of life that a position offers may be as important as the monies it provides. Be creative with your perks. Talk to your neighbors, your suppliers and your distributors to see how they attract and retain their employees. There are qualified people who can do what you need done — you just need to attract them to the position in a way that is meaningful to them. It is an upside-down world compared to what it used to be. Hiring New Employees In An Upside-down World ROBIN O’MARA, O’MARA AG SERVICES PRESIDENT Romara60@msn.com • omara-ag.com SEED ENHANCEMENT including film coating, encrustation, pelleting, build up coating and even practices like priming is a tricky process. Previously I wrote about issues involving wet treatment, dust off and clean out of equipment. Here I handle some additional topics that go hand in hand with those issues. Clumps in the Bag: Clumps can be caused by several issues including over dosing of components or components applied outside of the recipe ratio; prema- turely curing components like polymers, poor “action” in the treater allowing seed and components to group and stick; chip off of buildup not properly managed and other reasons! If you have tried everything and still have issues, consider installing a simple scalping screen immediately downstream from your treater. Frozen Seed: If you produce seed in cold regions (think soybeans in North Dakota) and your pretreatment stor- age is outdoors, there can be some issues when frozen seed mass is treated. Consider the process of seed treatment: one of the most important factors is that the moisture used to enhance the application must be removed through drying. One of the components of the process is that you are pushing water through a change of state from liquid to gas. Now consider seed coming into the process at 15 degrees F. Your treatment freezes as it is applied to the seed and will slow the process drying. This issue has to be addressed either by bringing seed up in temperature before treating or by including additional drying in your treatment process. Build Up in Equipment: The poly- mers required to stick and hold actives Practical Solutions to Seed Treatment Difficulties JON MORELAND PETKUS NORTH AMERICA MANAGING DIRECTOR moreland@petkus.de • petkus.de to the seed can exacerbate the cleanout. Also, the additive powders that facilitate drying and plantability will cause addi- tional issues. Every piece of mechanical application equipment on the market that will need some type of cleanout process. Good aspiration prior to and during treatment can help immensely. Dust and chaff that liberate from the seed during handling pick up treatment components that adhere to parts of the treater that doesn’t get scoured by seed. Good practices including scheduled cleanup will keep equipment running efficiently. Inevitably the PETKUS approach includes a hot water, high pressure washdown in our entirely enclosed system. This solves the problem entirely and as a bonus keeps the operator from dangerous chemical exposure.