The question of whether or not human resource (HR) management is needed is not unique to dairies; in fact, it’s not unique to any industry. It is a question which is relevant for any small business anywhere, and the answer is both yes and no. In small businesses with 10 or fewer employees, it’s unlikely you could keep an HR person busy full-time. However, regardless of how many employees you have, incorporating some HR management strategies proactively can really pay off over time.

The milking unit fall-off test measures the change in vacuum that occurs in a milking system to simulate what happens when a unit falls off a cow. It is an indication of the adequacy of the effective vacuum reserve or the margin capacity of the system. The change in vacuum when one unit in 12 is sucking air should be less than 0.6 inches of mercury. If it fails, then a unit falling off will cause a drop in the vacuum that affects the rest of the units, allowing them to squawk or even fall off. Vacuum margin is essential.

Case studies are often the best way to communicate how management and facility factors affect various outcomes on individual dairies. Detailed below are two case studies from dairies in the Midwestern U.S. that act as great examples of how management plays a large role in cow comfort.

Cow cooling is not just about fans and sprinklers. Science, technology and even genetics can all be part of a dairy’s heat-abatement strategy. Earlier this year, industry leaders traveled around Puerto Rico and the U.S. with the Heat Stress Road Show.

“I don’t want anyone to have to go through what we went through,” said David Fuhrmann, the president of Foremost Farms, the largest dairy cooperative in Wisconsin, to an audience of dairy cooperative members in Seattle, Washington, just a few weeks ago.

With nearly 90 percent of consumers indicating that animal welfare is a concern, dairy producers must communicate their efforts to uphold the highest standards of care, and an animal welfare audit is one way to achieve this.

Misunderstanding the changing workforce in this country could be as damaging to your dairy as low milk prices. Below are some comments I hear; please check the ones you think are true:

Dairy producers hire consultants for the services and expertise they provide. Consultants, whether they are nutrition consultants, veterinarians, crop and nutrient management plan advisors or financial advisors, are contractors paid by the dairy operation.As Dr. Tamilee Nennich from Purdue University has written, simply paying the consultant on a regular basis does not ensure that the consultant is providing the dairy operation with the best service possible.