Carl Mornios: Since winning the Silver Award we haven’t really have chance to stop and draw breath!
Carl Martins, Mornions Contract Herdcare, won the Contractor Innovator of the Year silver award back in 2017, and we got in touch with him to find out what’s happened since.
Since winning the Silver Award we haven’t really had chance to stop and draw breath! The demand for motivated, experienced and skilled dairy farm workers is still at an all time high. The publicity around winning, coupled with extra media exposure about our service has kept the phones ringing off the hook.
Taking over a Client’s business during their absence is not for the faint hearted and requires a certain level of expertise and a lot of trust. The British Farming Award has helped certify Mornios Contract Herdcare’s place in the industry and acts as great recognition for the work we do. This year has seen us complete a first for one of our Client’s, we provided cover for the young farming couple’s hen and stag celebrations, their wedding and honeymoon and an amount of the maternity cover for their new-born son.
The award has helped us gain respect from our suppliers and has strengthened our relationships whilst allowing for the relentless cost control that we are known for
Natalie has completed the Tesco Future Farmer Foundation programme and has returned to the business with new ideas, fresh insight and a new network of key industry contacts to utilise. It is currently the Dissertation year of my Master’s Degree and so I am hoping to find some time to collect data from our Farmer’s.
The recognition that we have received throughout members of the farming community from being featured in the farming press still doesn’t cease to amaze us. The award has helped us gain respect from our suppliers and has strengthened our relationships whilst allowing for the relentless cost control that we are known for.
We were very fortunate to be shortlisted in the Contractor of the Year Category for the 2018 Farmers Weekly awards, so the success has really continued.
Traditionally, our customers used us predominantly, for “firefighting” and emergency cover whereas we are now more heavily involved in structured holiday planning throughout the year. As Farmers are looking at ways to cope with less labour, we are increasingly being called in to provide total cover for Farmers that have not replaced staff but have worked harder and have chosen to spend the saving on longer term holidays at a time that suits them. We have seen a huge uptake in this service as Farmers are acknowledging the need for time away from the business to stay productive.
We have seen a huge uptake in this service as Farmers are acknowledging the need for time away from the business to stay productive
The company has continued to grow and has recently been granted a Gangmaster’s and Labour Abuse Authority licence to enable the couple to source and place permanent and temporary staff on farm. We are actively seeking suitably qualified staff to work with us to expand the business.
Because the range of our work encompasses the whole spectrum of the dairy industry, keeping at the forefront of technology and having a thorough understanding of the latest thinking is key to maintaining our technical excellence. We are thoroughly committed to continued professional development opportunities and have achieved DairyPro Endorsed status for the last 5 years. We have an extensive programme of C.P.D and have both enrolled onto the Farm Management Skills Programme run by IAgrM for this autumn.
In a bid to become a “one-stop shop” for dairy farmers we are continually adding to our range of services so now alongside the Relief Milking and Herdcare, CowSignals, Training and Consultancy we offer the ability to find and place staff, Pregnancy Scanning and ROMS Registered Mobility Scoring as well.