Editor’s note: The following is a question-and-answer roundtable with progressive dairymen, nutritionists, veterinarians and other selected dairy staff members at Form-A-Feed Inc. and TechMix Inc.

In 1856, in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, fire extensively damaged a number of retail stores.

After 30 years of working in the dairy industry, I’ve learned that you’ve got to be smart and efficient in the fresh pen. That almost sounds like Dick Vitale describing a college basketball team’s offense during a game on ESPN.

Dairy financial consultant Bob Matlick writes journal entries after participating in regular conference calls with Jon Spainhour, a dairy market analyst at Rice Dairy, and his dairy producer clients. He says most times he writes what he is thinking. Sometime in late October last year he remembers scribbling the thought: “Oh, *&^%!”

As we look at the current economic environment, both in the dairy industry and nationwide, it can be easy to become pessimistic and downtrodden. However, now is a critical time for dairy producers to seek and obtain professional and objective consultation.

Milk market regulations are like a balloon, poke it here and it pops there. Fights over dairy policy are about where and how deep to poke and who gets the pop. Milk payment timing is one of those pokes and pops. Consider this: It is the 15th of the month, and the final check for the previous month has not yet arrived.

“Come on! Go in the parlor!” your herdsman yells at Cow #216, who won’t go into the milking parlor again. Most who have worked with cows have experienced this frustration at some point in time. Sometimes it seems that some cows are bound and determined not to cooperate.

Employment by its very nature requires that managers and supervisors place performance expectations on employees to ensure business success. Very often however, managers are so consumed by what their expectations are for the people that work for them, they often fail to see supervision as a two-way street.

Farmers constantly seek to improve the production of their herd and crops, but it’s important to pay attention to the productivity of the workers as well.

You have only one opportunity to make a good first impression on new employees.