Often in our dairy lives we meet with different situations that you can label either irritating or costly. Some of these irritations (pet peeves) can be from either family members or employees. But beyond being annoying, are some of these issues even costly? Let’s examine a few of these areas to see whether we should tolerate some pet peeves or not. At times we all get a “brain cramp” and do something rather stupid, inconsiderate or neglectful of protocols or common sense.

Agriculture land prices in the U.S. have increased steadily over the last decade, leading experts and landowners to question whether the high values are sustainable. The short answer from the Rabobank International Food & Agribusiness Research and Advisory (FAR) group is that the land value rates are not a speculative bubble, but a decrease in land values over several years is a definite possibility.

On December 14, 1799, George Washington died. Two days earlier he spent five hours riding around his Mt. Vernon farm in a winter storm. After being exposed to the extended cold and wetness, he contracted what is believed by many to be acute epiglottis. This piece of anatomy in the upper throat, when inflamed, can swell. Even by today’s standards it can be life-threatening, but generally antibiotics are sufficient for full recovery. Untreated, the epiglottis swells, suffocating the victim.

When you need to hire a new employee, what are some of the traits you look for in an applicant? How about when a position opens up and you’re planning to promote someone from within your team? If you were asked to answer those two questions at a seminar with a room full of managers, I’m sure the group would come up with a pretty long list of characteristics. Actually, it would probably be so extensive, you might decide not to hire or promote anyone until the perfect candidate comes along! But most of the time when someone chooses to quit, you need to hire their replacement as soon as possible. And unfortunately, out of desperation, you’re probably even tempted to hire the next person available.

“I’ve got to get my cows to make more milk.” “I want to make as much milk as I can and as cheaply as I can.” “My grain bill’s too high and the milk check’s too low.” Most likely every dairy nutritional consultant has heard those words or words to that effect on just about every dairy farm he or she has been on. Or how about:

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) has announced they will be holding a hearing on June 30/July 1 to consider changes to the minimum price formulas for Class 4a (butter/nfdm) and Class 4b (cheese/whey) milk. In this article, we’ll focus on the changes being proposed to the Class 4b formula, with specific attention paid to the way our Class 4b formula accounts for the value of the whey stream generated as part of the cheese-making process.