Like many small towns and communities in rural America, my hometown plays host to a raucous and reverent celebration every summer in honor of its earliest settlers and pioneer heritage.

A little over 11 years ago, Cathy Speirs and her husband, Gordon, decided to move their small dairy operation from Alberta, Canada, to Brillion, Wisconsin. At the time, they only had 125 cows on their operation. Through many years of hard work, they and their two sons have grown the herd to 2,000 milking cows and 2,200 calves and replacement heifers.

Just about one year ago, I opined on this page that the dairy industry’s rate of adoption for new technology was slow. At the time, we started an experiment to observe dairy producers test-driving a few hand-picked new technologies to see just how easy it was for forward-thinking, tech-savvy dairy managers to adopt them.

What will 2015 farm milk prices look like? This is a question asked by many dairy farmers. The USDA’s November 2014 outlook projects the 2015 all-milk price to average $19.40 per hundredweight (cwt), which is about $5 per cwt lower than 2014.

The previous articles defined coaching, the economic value and fundamentals of building commitment in ourselves as leaders and in our businesses. In addition, we looked at selecting a professional coach to work with your development as a leader and how to ensure you get the support you need. This last article is going to be a sharing of my perspective on the similarities and differences I’ve experienced in coaching leaders from different industries.

“My dad always said, ‘If you have a good man, pay him well and he will make you money,’” says George Mueller, a shared partner and one of the founders of Willow Bend Farm in Clifton Springs, New York. Like many children, Mueller wasn’t all that impressed by his father’s advice. Over the years, however, he has come to understand the wisdom.