Would anyone doubt that a successful dairy farm requires a team effort? Silly question? Not at all. Most dairy farms have groups of people or collections of individuals rather than teams. Success does not demand a team approach. A farm manager who prefers a team approach faces a tough test of patience, people skills and communication. Team basics A dairy farm can have a team of people, a group or just a collection of individuals. The differences among the three are important: Team: Several people who work together as a cohesive unit to achieve specific, shared goals. Group: Several people who have common goals but work independently without depending on each other for their success. Individuals: Several individuals who work independently to accomplish their individual goals without depending on each other for their success.

I frequently meet with dairy science students who plan to be dairy consultants or run a dairy someday. Many of them are already involved in the management of their family’s dairy operations. I always ask them to imagine I am a 9-year-old questioning what is it that they will do when they graduate. They think for a minute and invariably the answer relates to the cow, e.g., “Take care of cows, help cows be healthy and productive.” Often they will mention the production of wholesome quality products. Sometimes they even refer to the business, as in, “Make sure the dairy is profitable.” Very rarely will they bring up anything related to their people, the employees and the workforce. The cruel reality is that, once in practice, they will inevitably spend more time dealing with people issues than in direct contact with cows.

Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. What a fitting way to describe our current scenario. Corn prices have achieved fall price levels never before witnessed. Milk prices are pushing a price spread of nearly two dollars. And our economy is still up for grabs as to whether we are heading into a double-dip recession or building a base for the next growth spurt. In our last article, we talked about seasonality and how the market normally makes its peak prices for the year in the September/October period. This year looks to be no different. What is concerning is how the market is digesting this climb higher and what is happening to the overall market structure.

There’s been a lot of discussion within the dairy industry regarding milk quality and the European Union recently. As the EU deadline for more stringent milk quality requirements nears, it seems some people are getting a little nervous about how it will affect their product’s market value. And although the extra pressure will surely make already tough times a little more stressful, is there really a problem with being expected to deliver better quality? When you think of yourself as a customer or a consumer, you’d probably agree that you expect a certain degree of quality from the items you purchase, right? So what role does quality play in your company’s operations?

Last fall, we established an internship section on our Proud to Dairy site by reaching out to dairy industry producers, professionals and educators. We are once again hoping to provide college students with a resource for dairy farm internships across the country. If you’d like to get the word out about an internship at your dairy operation, e-mail the following information to Emily Caldwell at emily@progressivedairy.com:

I recently returned from World Dairy Expo, cautiously optimistic about the dairy industry in 2011. Plans for dairy policy and pricing reform continue to be discussed. Your opinion on how soft or hard a position the U.S. should take will determine whether you support “market” management or “supply” management for the future. Two very clear sides of this issue are developing. Undoubtably, supporters on both sides will get more and more strident in supporting their causes and opinions. Will partisanship tear the industry in two just like it has U.S. politics? It could. I hope not.