Topics

Following is a list of events, websites, articles and other resources addressing farm stress. The list is provided as a service to dairy farm families and support teams. It is compiled from information collected from websites and other sources, and supplied by outside sources. Progressive Dairyman attempts to verify all resources listed, but appearance on the list does not represent an endorsement by Progressive Dairyman.

“Hello…er…what was your name again? Yeah, Pete, that’s right. We’re sure glad to have you starting today, two guys left last week and I did most of the milking over the weekend. Put your stuff down over there, here’s a pair of gloves, let’s get in the parlor.

During times of tight margins and economic uncertainty, investing into your business can seem risky, if not impossible. With lenders and consultants telling you to cut expenditures, it’s tempting to put all capital investments on the back burner.

The Dairy Profit Monitor (DPM) is a monthly tool designed to help dairy producers watch their income over feed costs (IOFC) along with other key operating and financial measures. Producers input information from their milk checks, feed and herd management programs, as well as costs and labor hours of the dairy.

As dairy producers have become increasingly aware of the significance of current labor issues, much discussion has revolved around labor costs and increasing minimum wages. Although cost has significant implications in the labor topic, understanding how and where employees spend time may be more important than the cost per hour and value of employees themselves.

The value of consistency, doing the little things right every day, these are always good ideas, but even more so in the current dairy climate. Cold weather calf care is a great example of how recommitting to the basics, and consistently doing things right, pays off in improved calf health and down-the-road cow productivity.