If you are looking for ways to improve your bottom line and develop a road map for your future, creating a business plan may be the right move for you. Business planning is essential for all successful businesses, including dairy operations.

With unemployment rates below 5% again, labor shortages are prominent. In addition to scarce numbers of candidates, the need to find and retain good employees is further threatened by turnover, injuries, poor performance and noncompliance with regulations.

I can only imagine what you might be feeling as you read this, sitting down for a break, wondering when the mental chatter in your brain is going to calm down.

A working manager is someone who supervises or at least directs people and manages and works in the operations of the dairy farm or agribusiness. Working manager is a challenging position because the two roles are very different, and that difference is rarely truly appreciated and accounted for.

On the modern dairy operation, feed costs are the highest input expense, making up 40% to 60% of all expenses.

The typical dairy operates in a constant state of need to control production costs. It’s a fact of life. Over the last few months (years now), we have seen increases in almost every on-farm cost. This is subsequently compounded by the supply chain difficulties everyone is dealing with.

What is common sense? Does common sense exist? The idea of common sense is that we all use the same sound judgment when making decisions. In other words, everyone else will do what seems obvious to you without being told or taught what to do.

Recently, on a virtual event with 126 financial advisers, I asked what their largest challenge was in serving farm clients. Sixty-four percent named procrastination.