Role clarity seems fairly self-explanatory, yet is often an issue on-farm. It is imperative dairies get a handle on this concept. Employees need increased role clarity if the operation is to achieve greater success.

Note: This is the fourth article in a five-part series for Progressive Dairyman about dairy culture. Conducting a meaningful culture assessment takes time, focus and a sincere commitment to learn and grow – by dairy producers and dairy employees.

The dairy industry continues to see massive changes in areas of financing, financial management, employee retention, compliance and expectations in operating efficiencies.

Most readers have likely seen some variation of the urgent vs. important matrix chart accompanying this article. It continues to intrigue me, however, how many dairy producers are never quite able to effectively discipline themselves to allocate any (or virtually no) time toward the long-term planning function of management.

A cousin of mine who’s a retired veterinarian, Fred, recently asked me, “How in the world can dairymen keep track of and manage financial, production and human resources management all at one time?” It seemed daunting to him.

A common leadership philosophy in business is to get better before you get bigger. The same philosophy rings true for dairy farmers.

A healthy owning family with strong values may be the greatest resource a business can have. —Aronoff, C., & Ward, J. (2011). Family meetings: How to build a stronger family and a stronger business. New York, New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Several years ago, Wisconsin started to have a higher level of drug residue violations in its dairy cull animals. Concerned by this, a group of private veterinarians banded together in 2009 to form the Wisconsin Veterinary Medical Association (WVMA) HACCP (hazard analysis and critical control points) for Proper Drug Use Program. They felt that this issue could be fixed with high quality education.