Management

Don’t just cover a pile, fix a pipe or milk cows – build teamwork.

Ever wonder how teamwork and trust are built? Turns out dairy farms have some of the right ingredients, if mixed just right.

Do you want to work forever?

While some say yes to this question, others envision a day when they can look back on the success of their careers, and look ahead to fulfilling their lives’ other dreams, knowing they’ve left their business in capable hands, securing their investment for generations to come.

When you’re a successful farmer, you shape your world. It’s your job to level mountains and create new ones by sheer determination. You have many employees who work for you – and when you say “jump,” they say “How high?”

I was walking around my business one day, and I pondered this thought: “Why am I doing this?” By “this,” I meant the business I was engaged in – automated car washes. In addition to my dairy consulting business, I had this side business operating automated car washes.

They say hindsight is 20/20, but the year 2020 contained anything but hindsight. Blindsided by what we now know as COVID-19, governments were forced to intervene in the form of financial and medical assistance.

It’s no surprise the infusion of direct government payments to farmers helped many dairy operators weather the storm that was 2020. Those payments were necessary to help operators struggling with the many effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, but it’s not something you can build a plan around.