Numerous agriculture meetings and events are held this time of year, as it’s the “slow” time. Of course, it seems no time of the year is slow anymore, especially if you are a dairy owner wearing many hats, such as milker, feeder, crop manager, people manager, “waste management technician,” repairman, marketer and more.

Sitting on my stool in front of the third farm audience of the week, I should not have been surprised to receive the same question for the third time by text: “Elaine, how we do we stop the conflict on our farm?”

Breaking up is hard to do but, as the risk manager for your farm, you should be prepared for the day when you and your lender may have to go your separate ways.

With all the challenges going on in the dairy industry right now, most are finding themselves in crisis mode 24-7. This leaves little time to sit back and think about what got us here, how it can be solved and what we can do so future generations don’t have to go through the same thing.

Companies that treat their accounting software as a tool only for compiling taxes are missing out on the opportunity to produce valuable management reporting.

Two cows live on a theoretical farm. Both produce revenue. Both are recently fresh. One calved well, is in good body condition, breezed through the whole transition phase and is ready to breed – and looks like she will peak well.

What is the best way to motivate your employees to improve their work performance? This is a common question of farmers hiring full-time employees. In addition to basic wages, many employers offer pay bonuses to encourage good job performance.

An employee handbook is an important document that all farms should have. The purpose of a handbook is to outline the expectations the farm has for their employees, as well as including rules and policies. Although the details of the contents of the handbook will vary from farm to farm, there are many online resources that can help your farm put together a handbook with the essential information. Here are a few employment policies to include in your handbook that are particularly beneficial to dairy farms.

Are you aware that one-third of the farm population is injured annually? Do you want to see OSHA on your farm?

What is your number one challenge in the next five years? Is it commodity prices, trade wars or low yields? Or is it how you manage your operation, the resources available to you and your use of technology?