MANAGEMENT

Are you using one of the best tools available on a dairy farm to solve potential problems and move the business forward? Are we talking about a new product? Service? Technology? Not in this article.

Instead, we are focusing on a time-tested – and often underutilized – tool on the dairy: a properly run employee meeting.Some reasons to conduct an employee meeting include:

A lot of attention is paid to the health of cattle on the farm. Those raising their own feed pay attention to the health of crops in the field. Some dairy farmers even pay attention to their own health (but more should).

But how many pay much attention to the health of the relationship between owners/managers and the employees? I’m betting that is pretty far down on the list of health items watched very carefully.

Editor’s note: This article is the first in a two-part series featuring information from the Precision Dairy Technology Forum hosted by Penn State University. This article appeared in the November 1, 2013 Extra e-newsletter:  Click here to read.

“When you’re making a transition, have a plan. Don’t just have a five-minute conversation in the yard about how to make the transition. Have a real plan,” said Paul Berdell of Robotic Milking Integration Solutions.

January is a great time to snuggle with a cup of tea and a great book. It is also a time to reflect on the lessons of last year, and for me, that lesson a few years ago was learning to walk alongside friends who have become young widows.

Whether you’re a world-class athlete, parent, dairy manager or musician, almost all success comes from being “consistent.” But what does that really mean?

Being consistent means … having the discipline to do something the same way over and over and over again.

In football, there is always hype about the quarterback – but when it comes to winning, they certainly don’t get the job done alone. What I love about team sports is you only win when you put a mixture of talent together.

If you took all the top quarterbacks in the NFL and made a team, they would probably not fare well on the field because they all bring similar skills. Diversity trumps when winning games.