OSGOODE — Jeff Robinson has been matching the needs of employees with farm employers for two years and says the starting salary for full-time work is $30,000 a year.

But the farm worker must be able to build on that salary as they become more experienced, he said.

The job recruiter says that an experienced milker earns between $15 and $17 if he’s working with the owner. But if he’s left to handle everything alone the cost is $20 per hour.

A dairy farmer milking 60 cows, Robinson says his employment service is a secondary but important business where he can put to use his 10 years as a manager.

He’ll recruit, do a background check, screen resumes and interview alone or with the farm owner. "I have a knack for picking out the right farm employee," he says. Right now he has more good people available than there are farms.

"The problem," he says, "is that a lot of farms want experience." Less than three per cent of the population farms today and experienced people are not available in large numbers. "Farms should be ready to do some training," he says.

One of the best people he placed was a girl from a small horse farm "She caught on right away," he said.