Editor’s note: The author is the lab director at Bob-White Systems Lab in Royalton, Vermont. He also owns and operates a pasture-based beef and lamb farm with his family. They milk two cows and a goat for their household.

In the dairy industry, 2015 may be the year of the consumer, which brings with it some great news for farmers. While sales of gallons of white milk continue to decline, dairy continues to grow in value-added and niche segments such as whole-fat dairy products, organic and yogurt.

Elizabeth (Betsy) Fleury and her husband, Steve, spend each Christmas Eve discussing how their year went, and each New Year’s Eve planning for the next 12 months on their farm in Richford, Vermont. Their farm motto always has been “Get better, not bigger,” and when the couple sold their 35 registered Jersey dairy cows at the end of 2014, Betsy says this tough decision fell right in line with that mode of thinking.

Dan Bolin New Day Dairy Clarksville, Iowa “The biggest improvement I’ve seen in the past year in the dairy industry is that when milk prices are high and times seem to be relatively good, we tend to settle in and enjoy ourselves but maybe lose a bit of that push to be innovative and come up with the next great thing. So let’s be ready to be innovative here in the next few years and keep pushing forward to be more efficient and be the best we can.”