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As the saying goes, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Is it possible there are “weak links” in your fresh cow treatment protocols that could set your dairy up for vulnerabilities, either for antibiotic residues or lack of efficacy?

In 2007, my career path was somewhat redirected after working with a high-profile dairy herd’s health and performance challenge.

Like many people who grew up on a dairy farm in decades past, I remember long, hot days of baling hay in small square bales. We hauled the bales to the barn in hay wagons, unloaded them into the hay elevator, which took them up into the barn, and stacked them tightly inside the hay barn.

I use a book by Patrick Lencioni, The Truth About Employee Engagement: A Fable About Addressing the Three Root Causes of Job Misery, as the basis for this article.

In a May 1 post on the Maryland Risk Management Education Blog, Kelly Nuckolls discussed safety and liability laws covering the movement of farm machinery. The article noted employers are liable for any accidents caused by their employees while those employees are acting within the scope of their job.

Many of the decisions you make on the farm – and in life – are influenced by what you already know and adjusted by whatever new information you can obtain.