We are all familiar with the common stressors in agriculture. It’s easy to point to price swings, government regulations, land competition, weather and disease when we talk about stress on the farm.

Having a clear understanding of debt, whether long-term or short-term, fixed or variable, can help develop a strategy. 

Quality beef is in high demand. One look in the beef section of a grocer’s cooler or a night out with a good steak dinner testifies that quality beef fetches premium prices.

There are a lot of farmers in their 30s and 40s who don’t know what their future looks like.  The truth be told: 77% of farms don't have a succession plan. And this obviously has a lot to do with why only 12% of farms pass onto the third generation!

It recently came to my attention that employee retention is an issue in most businesses today, and we are an outlier in this area. Sourcing employees and employee retention is a common question we receive during tours and community presentations.

Increasing feed costs. Weather. Mastitis. Working with family. Sick calves. Changing contracts. Paperwork. Bad silage. Your brother-in-law. The list of stressors on a dairy farm is long. Unfortunately, most of them are also chronic. 

Ask most dairy producers what their biggest headache is right now, and you will likely hear this one word: Labor.