Dairy farmers find relief on website

P.E.I. dairy farmers looking for help on the farm can now turn to a new website set up by the Agriculture Sector Council.

Dairy cattle need attention 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and dairy farmers regularly hire relief milkers to milk cows at night or to enable farmers to take time off.

Ben Miller, executive director of the P.E.I. Agriculture Sector Council, designed the website. Farmers can register there, providing information on how many cows they own and what kind of farm they have. Worker can also register by entering their experience level and theirwage expectations.

"[It's] another mechanism or another means to look for somebody so they don't always have to rely on word of mouth," said Miller.

"It does get difficult. There areother commitments, some of the producers sit on various boards, and they have family trips just like anybody else. So I thought maybe this would be a good way to facilitate connecting with somebody to help them out if they're in a bind."

Miller said something similar is offered in New Zealand.

The website was launched in the fall, and letters were sent out to dairy farmers in December about the new tool.

About 11 farmers and 16 workers have signed up so far.