Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/70680
CLIFF OHMART Vineyard View Sustainable Growing's Third 'E' Highlights "E"s in great detail, however social equity, the third "E," gets the least amount of time devoted to it. Why is that? I think it is because it is the factor that is the most challenging to address for many companies. In thinking about the title of this column, I was tempted to call W it "The Third Rail of Sustainability," because no one wants to touch the subject for fear of getting zapped. I am not implying that the wine industry has ignored human resource issues—there are many vineyard and wine companies that have devoted time and resources to developing exemplary HR programs. However, it is fair to say that the third "E" has not received the same attention as the other two. My own inattention towards this topic is a great example of how the third "E" gets neglected, either consciously or unconsciously. While thinking about topics for this space, it suddenly struck me that in the 12 years of writing a column about sustainable wine- growing I had never devoted one to human resource issues. I will now rectify the situation. Why are human resource issues in the wine industry, as well as the rest of agriculture, so challenging and often consciously or unconsciously avoided? I think there are at least two impor- tant reasons: Labor is by far the most costly part of growing winegrapes. Many growers are either barely meeting or just ex- ceeding the cost of production. So issues that involve increasing Weed Badger® Forget the string trimmers and backbreaking hand labor! Mow in-the-row, under vines, along berms and borders. Attaches to all Weed Badger models with a 25-inch swath and speeds of over 5 mph! Call and ask about our specials. 3875 Mower 800-437-3392 • www.weedbadger.com • Climate Controlled Bonded Wine Storage Facility • Cased Goods, Full Barrels, and Dry Goods • Centrally located in Paso Robles • Unix Inventory System Trucking, Harvesting and Warehousing Available! 3230 Riverside Ave, Ste # 150 Paso Robles, CA 93446 Phone (805) 237-9499 Fax (805) 237-9599 Wines & Vines MAY 2011 77 hile many definitions of sustainable farming have been proposed, one point of agreement for most is the three "E"s of sustainability: farm- ing that is economically viable, environmentally sound and socially equitable. Sustainable dis- cussions almost always deal with the first two • Social equity, the third "E" of sustainable winegrowing, does not receive the same level of attention as do the other two "E"s, economics and the environment. • Human resource management has four major topic areas: 1) staffing and recruiting, 2) training and organizational devel- opment, 3) employee relations, 4) compensation and benefits. • There are many ways to recognize the value of an employee and compensate them for their work. wages and/or benefits can easily become make-or-break financial situations. The second reason is that people can be very chal- lenging to deal with. They complain, they can be stubborn, they have egos and—unlike a troublesome piece of equipment—they cannot be simply and easily replaced with the newest model. Nevertheless, human resources are the most important part of our business, so we must do everything we can to meet the HR challenges we face today. I will be the first to admit to not being a human resources ex- pert. However, I am human, I have held many jobs and supervised many people during my career, and I feel I have learned some things in the process. Job-related human resource issues can be MichaelDusiWarehouse_Dir07 10/25/06 11:49 AM Page 1