Management

The challenging times brought about by depressed milk prices have been felt by all in the dairy industry. While it may affect farm owners most directly, the results have their way of trickling down through the farm. If they haven’t already, your employees are likely to be affected by these lean times as well.

The dairy industry has evolved considerably over the last several decades. Major changes in genetics, nutrition, technology and management have reshaped dairy production. Producers have had to adapt to these new techniques and ideas in order to keep their farm competitive.

Dairy farms everywhere are operating in a tight economic environment, and it is critical to control expenses and maximize income. Labor represents the second-largest category of expense, after feed, for most dairy farms.

While daily responsibilities of farm life make it easy to put off planning for the future, an early start and attention to details are critical to creating and implementing a generational farm succession plan, according to Charlie Gardner, DVM.

Many dairy owners today are trained to manage cows – but not people. This dynamic is complicated further when robots are added to the mix. The skill set for an employee on a modern dairy farm varies greatly from the requirements of just 15 years ago.

The article, “Improving extension: How Illinois extension specialists are making a difference on dairies” from our April 1 issue featured Dr. Phil Cardoso and his Dairy Focus Team.