Remember the famous sign on President Truman’s desk: “The Buck Stops Here.”? If you’re a leader, you probably already know that the buck stops with you. As an employer or manager, you’re accountable to everyone who depends on the success and viability of your dairy ... your management team, your employees, your customers, your vendors, your lenders, your neighbors and last but certainly not least, yourself and your family.

In a previous article, I discussed three different areas where you can work to save your dairy from possible failure. If you will recall, I had the experience of being asked what it takes to bring a dairy back to life. It’s no small job! We discussed the need to know your production and reproduction numbers if you’re going to heal. Your feeding must be timely and orderly, because this is your largest expense. Also, don’t overlook the fact that your labor force must be able and willing to implement your protocols for you to survive.

Editor’s note: Marc Laribee from Graceway Farms in Lowville, New York, submitted the following letter in response to the recent arrest of John Barney, a dairy producer in Upstate New York, by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in late March.

Recently, MPC and California Dairy Campaign co-hosted an industry meeting in Visalia to delve into National Milk Producers Federation’s “Foundation for the Future” (FFTF). The meeting attracted about 160 people, a vast majority of whom were dairy farmers. It was moderated by CDC Executive Director Kevin Abernathy, and was broken into five main parts: 1. An opening statement from MPC President Syp Vander Dussen.

“The milk pricing system is really complicated,” said Sherry Bunting, corresponding secretary of the Dairy Policy Action Coalition (DPAC). “The more complicated it is, the easier it is to hide a lot of things. Producers flat out just don’t have a basic trust in the system that’s pricing their milk.”

Canadian beef producer Neil Dennis had just determined he could no longer farm his family’s 1800s homestead in a conventional manner a few days before a flyer in the mail caught his wife’s eye.

At my house, Art does the grocery shopping! “Art is well- trained,” you say ... well, maybe I am. But as one of the few “farm boys” left residing in my town these days, I find the grocery market to be a source of information. It stokes my imagination. Mostly, I see real, fresh fruits and vegetables conveniently bundled with energy-intensive packaging. I see evidence of energy-intensive produce storage systems, energy-intensive sanitation systems and energy-intensive transportation systems. I see neatly packaged ready-to-eat cereals and baked goods. I like what I see.