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In February, the Canadian milk recording agencies CanWest DHI and Valacta published the top herds in Canada as measured by Herd Management Score (HMS). For the first time, the calculations were done at the national level amongst a total of 8,500 herds.
I envision young farmers as a sea of eager agricultural entrepreneurs looking for new ways to improve themselves and their businesses. Recently, I spoke at the London Swine Conference about “Managing the Generations.”
Just like many other industries, agriculture has transformed over the past few decades. Not only is it changing, but it is changing at a very rapid pace.
Talk to most dairy producers about what the future holds for them in the industry, and you get the sense that navigating the policies and following the trade negotiations has become thorny, complex and makes strategic planning very difficult.
Farmers wear a number of hats on any given day – from milker and feeder to mechanic and accountant. It takes a variety of skill sets to get milk in the tank. A growing number of farmers are adding another hat: that of processor.
Change has been the name of the game for European dairy producers this past year with the abolishment of the quota system, Russia’s embargo and months of low milk prices.
The number 2020 stares at me from the flip chart paper on my kitchen wall. This farm coach is being coached to set timelines for moving off our farmyard to make room for our successor to live on the main yard.
There is a saying that goes something like this: “When you are up to your ‘you-know-what’ in alligators, it is hard to remember that the original plan was just to drain the swamp.”
In order for the Canadian dairy industry to remain sustainable, it needs to work together to overcome the challenges it faces and seize the opportunities before it.
My parents married Dec. 27, 1955. My brothers each chose to marry that same week in 1984 and 1990. I, being the rebel, got married on Independence Day: July 4, 1981. Wes and I have outlasted Chuck and Di, who married the same year, same month.
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