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...
Category: Uncategorized
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...
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, Uncategorized
Farm Dangers both physical and mental
Even Superman has his limits. Written for Farm Futures and originally published Oct. 2024. Farms are dangerous places, and most of us know of someone who was injured or killed in a farm accident. When accidents happen the farm community rallies around the family and provides support. Go to many farms today, and there you will see high-visibility clothing, training programs, and discussions on how to stay safe during pre-harvest employee meetings. Farming is dangerous, beyond equipment-related injuries and deaths. Farming kills and injures at the mental level as well, but we often don't want to acknowledge it. The...
Business Growth Strategy, Succession Planning, Uncategorized
Keep the Peace: Farm business vs. farm life
As farms become larger, many families conclude that perks must be limited and keep business more separate from personal life. Written for Farm Futures and published in the February 2024 issue. Most families get along great and, on most days, enjoy working together. This can lead the family to believe they are in alignment on essential issues. But, often, there is enough differences between some fundamental principles that someday will cause friction. Alignment around these principles falls under an underused area of transition planning called family governance. They are critical in keeping the peace and creating a strong family farm. ...
Business Growth Strategy, Uncategorized
Essential Skills for Leaders: Skill 1- STRATEGIC THINKING
There are 3 essential skills, beyond being great at on the technical side of things. Skill 1: Strategic Thinking Written for Progressive Dairy and originally published Nov/Dec 2023 Scaling up or even surviving in dairy requires three essential skills beyond being great at the technical parts of dairy farming, such as nutrition, breeding, etc. I will discuss the first skill - strategic thinking - now and expand on the other two in future articles. Dairymen and dairywomen might shy away from the word "leader." Few in the industry wake up, look in the mirror and think of themselves as leaders....
Business Growth Strategy, Uncategorized
Move from Vision to Reality – Strategic Planning part 3
Is everyone pulling in the same direction? Written for Farm Futures and originally published Nov/Dec 2023 "We're family, and we work together every day. We know what each other wants." This is often the unspoken thought for many farmers, and it's logical reasoning. However, this logic makes several assumptions that can lead to misaligned priorities, confused employees, and sometimes conflict. The problem arises not from what's talked about but what isn't. Specifically the vision for the future of the farm. We all know it's impossible to foresee the future, so why even try? It is more common than...
Business Growth Strategy, Uncategorized
Complacency can Kill a Family Farm
Disbelief and Inaction can result in disaster. Written for Farm Futures and originally published Oct 2023 The high-performance aircraft engine ran smoothly above the Rocky Mountains on a trans-mountain flight, and the weather was sunny and calm. Life was good. The pilot scanned the engine monitor, and it showed the #3 cylinder was a little hotter than usual, but not by much. After some adjustments to the engine, the cylinder was still running warm. Was the pilot imagining things? Perhaps the cylinder always ran this hot? The pilot told himself everything else looked good, so this little thing must not...
Business Growth Strategy, Succession Planning, Uncategorized
Why do People Resist Change – Part 2
Three types of Resistance to Change I don't like it. I don't understand it. I don't trust you. Written for MILK magazine and originally published Aug. 2023 The entire dairy industry is going through massive restructuring and change. These changes are forcing dairies to scale up to remain competitive, working with suppliers, finding labor, and finding a market for the milk. The changes are also coming from within as many dairies transition the business to the next generation. These changes are profound, and change is hard. Not every dairy will make the transition to the new dairy economy. While sad,...
Business Growth Strategy, Uncategorized
Core Values – strategic planning part 2
Using Core Values Understanding your farm's values creates clarity and alignment around what we care about at a gut level. Written for Farm Futures and originally published 6/28/2023. Last week I outlined the benefits of using formal strategic planning on farms. In addition to aligning generations as part of a transition plan, a strategic plan creates alignment and helps farmers be proactive versus reactive. Farmers tell me that strategic planning allowed them to jump on the right opportunities and hire the right employees faster because it was clear what they truly wanted. I have found that the more successful the farm, the...