Already half of 2024 is done, as June 30th is right over the horizon. The farm's performance for the first half of the year is about 15% of 2023, the slow erosion is entirely due to the introduction in 2023 of more greenhouses. At 22 today, we are full up and are not planning to add anything more.
We are now fully out of the Covid crisis, with virtually all systems back to the pre-crisis level regarding demand. We are less exposed than many because we have begun restricting growth. We have achieved the balance we sought a few years ago. Garden waste that was threatening our biodigesters had been resolved by our pigs and goats, although the pigs are far bigger consumers of garden waste. It also helps balance their diet, considering they inhabit forested areas.
In May, one of our biodigesters was offline for major maintenance. There were some unexpected maintenance expenses in that segment.
Overall, the farm is doing very well, it is the right size for the staffing we currently have in place. It will be interesting to see how the dynamic of our employees shifts, as there are fewer opportunities for advancement, a real downside to our decision to halt the farm's expansion.
As I mentioned before, we have reached peak productivity in five of our six non-farm activities, which relate to the transformation aspect. As we do not manage these operations, our partners do, the decision to not expand further is one that we have as co-owners made together.
A friend of a friend asked my wife about our marketing budget, and she pointed out that our largest marketing expense was the baby food referral program. Other than that we have no marketing budget, everything we sell, we do by word of mouth, and, as an example, our pie business sells out its entire production. We send out automatic mailers to our current customers, that new products are available, but that's it. The other businesses do the same, because although production is no longer artisanal, it is still very small, moreover, with no preservatives our production has a very short shelf life.
Jennifer the farm manager has made the foremen (and women) responsible for managing the expectations of their staff, not to reduce their interest in taking on more responsibilities or shifting to full-time work, rather to see when certain employees are at a stage where more is needed. I mentioned before that a substantial percentage of our staff is part-time (20 hours a week) about 70% of our part-time staff are women, (50% of our full-time staff are women). IN about half the part-time staff the reason is children, but that is not static, that changes all the time. As children grow up they are less at home. Our job going forward is to either keep our part-time staff happy or find them new opportunities where they can grow.
We are never happy to see people leave the farm (or the businesses) because we know them, and the cost of integrating new employees is not zero. There is a real learning curve. However, we are only their employers and if we cannot meet their aspirations, then we are better off (them too) if they leave, and we are even better off if we find them a new job. This has become a thing in our area. By September, I am aware of 4 employees who are leaving the farm. All want full-time jobs that we simply do not have, and so Jennifer has found them great jobs, the reason is that Jennifer, my wife and I know every employer in a 30-mile range, and we know who needs help.
Anyway, we've had another great six months. To all my fellow Brits, have a good summer, and may the elections live up to your expectations
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