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Protecting a dairy’s milk income from soaring feed costs has never been more of a challenge. Historically, producers have turned to the futures and options market to hedge against milk price declines or increases in feed costs. Now, thanks to the federal government’s willingness to subsidize insurance premiums, there are some other interesting choices available.

With the uncertainty of today’s stock market, business owners would rather put their hard-earned money into assets they can physically see and feel, such as land, cows or diversified crops. As a result, the majority of business owners’ assets are tied up in their business. If this holds true to your situation, do you have a solid succession plan? All business owners leave their businesses eventually. Whether the plan is to transfer assets to the next generation of actively involved family members, sell your business to a group of key employees or you end up having to deal with the unexpected (death or disability, for example) that prevents you from running your company – you need to be prepared.

Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve liked politics, campaigns and elections. There was something magical about heading down to the old Town of Franklin voting “shack” that was heated by a wood-burning, potbelly stove. I couldn’t wait to go with my parents and stand in line with all the other people who were waiting to cast their ballot. Although I’m still fascinated by the political process, as a tax-paying adult who “works too much,” it seems that the reality of it isn’t as charming as I once thought it was. The truth is … I’m afraid my cynicism and sense of logic has replaced my naïveté and sense of emotion.

A common managerial theme in the dairy industry is “surround yourself with good people.” When it comes to risk and opportunity management for your dairy, how do you build the team? We teamed up to write this column and share the best practices we see among today’s well-run dairies. Here’s what we – a dairy business consultant and a commodity marketing consultant – see as essential steps to creating a high-functioning team that gets results for the dairy business:

While many of you were attending World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisconsin, I was in Rome, Italy, at the joint meeting of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Feed Industry Federation (IFIF). As global agriculture continues to evolve, it is increasingly important to have coordination and cooperation between nations, feed associations, regulatory bodies, scientists and feed companies from around the world. FAO has been charged by the UN to increase the supply and security of food for the world. Most of its resources are spent assessing the supply of food in the world and what can be done to make it available and affordable to more of the world’s population.

Every day there are conversations of different types occurring on your dairy. These interactions happen to everyone, owners, managers and employees – and they are the day-to-day conversations that affect the life of the dairy and the life of everyone involved. It is important for your radar to be at its highest awareness because what makes a conversation crucial is: First, that opinions do vary from person to person. Second, that the stakes are high depending on the situation.