Dwayne Faber: Keeping employees motivated and engaged when managing dairies from afar

Join host Kimmi Devaney as she chats with Oregon dairy producer and Progressive Dairy columnist Dwayne Faber about moving the dairies to another state, how he keeps employees motivated when he cannot always be there, the qualities he looks for in key employees and what has surprised him most during the transition from managing two farms nearby to managing them from afar.

Here is a breakdown of the episode:

• [~1:10] About you and your farms
• [~2:25] What it was like starting a dairy in 2009
• [~3:20] Management differences between having the dairy nearby and having the farm farther away
• [~5:10] Team meetings and trainings
• [~6:40] How Faber keeps employees engaged and motivated
• [~7:30] What Faber is most proud of
• [~8:10] The qualities and characteristics he looks for in dairy managers, herdsmen and other key roles on these farms
• [~8:50] What surprised Faber the most about managing dairies from afar
• [~9:40] Challenges of dairying in the Pacific Northwest
• [~15:20] Advice for dairy producers interested in buying or leasing a dairy in another area when they cannot always be there
• [~16:20] Faber’s inspiration for his regular columns in Progressive Dairy
• [~18:10] Why he started posting on X 
• [~20:40] Posting on X with former Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue
• [~22:00] Faber’s advice for someone interested in diving into social media advocacy
• [~23:20] Rapid-fire questions

Reach out to Faber on X @dfaber84 or [email protected]