Using Debriefs to Smooth Out the Rough Spot As the pace of winter settles in this is the ideal moment to look back at the season behind you. Not with blame, and not with storytelling that drifts wherever the coffee takes it-but with a structured, practical debrief that helps you shape the year ahead. Most of the coming year's headaches are already visible in the rearview mirror. The trick isn't predicting the future. It's paying attention to the past in a way that pulls your team into the process and turns those frustrations into system improvements. Debriefs do just...
Uncategorized
Of Old Dogs and Old Friends
Thanksgiving - November 2025 Passing through an airport, I saw a variety of dogs, from the K9 to some fluffy things smaller than a medium-sized cat. These dogs were coddled, smelled great, and were going on vacation with their owners. That's not my dog. He's back home and smells like the last thing he rolled in. I've always had dogs. Some I've had for a short time before they passed away (the shortest was one day), and others I have spent over a decade with. My current dog is Romeo, and he's ten years old. He's an old dog. He's...
Business Growth Strategy
Rethinking Sweat Equity
Why It's Time to Put Old Compensation Models Out to Pasture For generations, sweat equity wasn't talked about. It was assumed. Work harder than anyone else, take home the same (or less) than the hired help, and trust that one day, the farm-or a good chunk of it-would be yours. Money was tight, and for many, it worked out just fine… until it didn't. The truth is, today's dairies track the hours and contributions of employees and pay them accordingly. Why not do the same for family members? The old sweat equity model-where family members accept below-market wages in exchange...
Business Growth Strategy, Uncategorized
It’s Not Luck. It’s Intentional
Common Practices of Top Tier Farms Let's talk about something that can really make a difference in your farming journey-professionalizing your farm. If the word professionalizing doesn't resonate with you, then let's call it being Intentional. Intentional about what? As someone who works across all sectors in agriculture, it's my humble opinion that dairy is the most complex. Yes you need great animal husbandry and good milk production, but there is more. So why do some farms tend to pull ahead over time? Why do some farms just have "all the luck?" It's not luck at all, but rather intentional...
Leadership, Succession Planning
Generational farms require drive and talent
A sustainable farm...needs smart, talented individuals who are challenged by the farm and themselves. This is a final column of a 3-part series. Family farms often begin with the relentless determination and unwavering spirit of their founders. These pioneers weathered harsh conditions and cleared the land to establish their homesteads. The work was grueling, and the comforts were few. But the farm prospered as the family worked together. However, over time, certain pitfalls of complacency emerged. To sustain the family farm, the senior generation must answer two questions: Is the next generation committed to doing the hard things required...
Business Growth Strategy, Uncategorized
When NOT to Invest in Your Dairy
Sustain Your Dairy by Investing Elsewhere When does not investing in the dairy actually improve the odds of sustaining that family dairy? Each year, farm families across the USA face a dilemma: how to provide 25+ years of reliable retirement income for a retiring owner while still allowing the farm to grow. All too often, a large payout or decades of payments to an owner hamstring a dairy. It's hard to expand if large amounts of cash leave the business each year. If more than one owner is retiring at the same time, it's even more difficult. Questions such as:...
Succession Planning
When Families Outgrow Farms
Maybe not everyone in the family can come back to the farm. Written for Farm Futures and initially published in the March/April 2025 issue. A sustainable family farm has three components: unity, assets, and people. Last month, we talked about family unity, but today, let's talk about assets. Particularly long-term growth of family assets. Family asset growth is one of the top three components of a sustainable family farm. Farming takes a lot of capital. It takes a lot of time to grow that capital and takes a lot of reinvestment into the farm. One of the important key elements...
Business Growth Strategy, Leadership
Do you have the right people on your farm?
The "right people" is a hard thing to measure and it's different for every farm. But here are some ideas. Written for MILK/DairyHerd and originally published 3/7/2025. It's the time when many businesses prepare for annual reviews. Some have sophisticated employee measurement metrics, but many do not. Whether you do or not, I'm guessing you want two basic things. The right people working in the business (the wrong ones somewhere else) and placing these "right people" in the "right spot." The "right people" is a hard thing to measure and it's different for every farm. But here are some ideas. Levels...
Business Growth Strategy, Succession Planning
Are you intentional with your farm business in these areas?
Unity, drive, talent, grit, asset growth and future planning are key areas to focus on to sustain the family business through the next generation. Written for Progressive Dairy and originally published March 13, 2025 here. I'm sure you have heard the adage that the third generation loses the farm. This is not unique to America, and this saying has existed in almost all cultures over hundreds of years. Sustainability is a buzzword we often hear, but what about the sustainability of the family farm? What does it take for a farm to sustain itself generation after generation? Why does it...
Communication, Leadership, Succession Planning
Family Unity
First of the 3 Elements needed for a Sustainable Family Business Written for Farm Futures and originally published at in their Jan/Feb 2025 issue. There is an adage. The first generation starts it, the second builds it and the third generation loses it. A variation of this saying is in almost all cultures, some going back several thousand years. Sustaining a family business is hard. Clients have told me it's harder than starting a family business. I believe it. When we initially ask a new client about their concerns about sustaining the family business, we often hear concerns about the...