Management

The current economic times have raised the necessity and significance of re-evaluating operation costs, management practices and long-term business perspectives.

Editor's note: The following is the last of two articles. In the August 11 issue of Progressive Dairyman, Bernard Erven explained the challenges and fears managers face during difficult times.

Life is all about choices. Some work out great, some not well at all. The key, though, is to always have a choice -- because the alternative is not pleasant. I have experienced such situations in my lifetime.

Here is a simple question: How much did the raw milk in that gallon of milk in the dairy case cost to produce?

As dairymen begin to work smarter and realize they must work within the laws of supply and demand concerning the production and distribution of their milk products so as to make a profit, various brainstorming ideas have been presented to eliminate unreasonable amounts of surplus milk or surplus milk altogether.

We have a number of terms and numbers thrown at us, especially in financially distressed times like now.