Management

Our firm has produced averages of our dairy clients’ profit and loss reports on a quarterly basis for quite some time. Our clients, as well as others in the industry, have found these very helpful as benchmarks to which to compare their own operations.

Ron St. John of Trenton, Florida, got his start in the dairy industry like many others: by being born into a farming family. His farm business has taken a long journey from his father’s 67 cows in a small, northern New York town to the herd’s current status as the largest freestall dairy in Florida that may seem unique to some.

Editor’s note: This article is the second in a two-part series. Click here to read the first article.

In the first article, which appeared in the June 12, 2018 issue of Progressive Dairyman, I focused on the leadership, parenting and mentoring required by parents from birth of their children to the time they do or do not return to the dairy farm business.

Labor issues can be a challenge on any dairy farm. Attorney Karl Butterer of Foster, Swift, Collins and Smith, PC, explored labor policies, trends and employment pitfalls with dairy producers at the Great Lakes Regional Dairy Conference held in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan.

An idea to educate their city friends about life on the farm transformed the Peterson Farm Brothers from Assaria, Kansas, into internet sensations and advocates for agriculture around the world.

As a veterinarian, one of the things I dreaded (besides more paperwork) when the Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD) came about was hearing producers say, “This is just an excuse for vets to charge me more money.”