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What is consciousness and why does it matter to your dairy? Consciousness is the capacity to catch and learn from reality, to be attentive and paying attention to our internal world and to the world that surrounds us.
It is what allows us to adapt to our environment and to act in order to get the most out of our potential in life. As humans, we are able to think and act beyond instinctive impulses and conditioning – we are able to “manage” ourselves.
And even though we can manage ourselves, being autonomous is a possibility, not a gift – we need to develop it through conscious choices.
I know you’ve heard it before but, given the current volatility in both the milk and feed prices, I thought now would be a good time to review the importance of hedging the milk-feed margin.
Some of you are more familiar with hedging your milk price, while some may be more familiar with hedging feed prices.
In his book Moments of Truth, Jan Carlzon, former CEO of the Swedish airline SAS, states that “An individual without information cannot take responsibility.
An individual who is given information cannot help but take responsibility.”
If we want those who fuel the success of our businesses, our workers, to be more engaged in that success, there are at least five questions that we, as leaders, must answer for every person on the payroll.
I’ve been hearing a lot of conversation recently about the profitability of milking cows. The buzzwords include three-year price cycles, three-year production cycles, market stability, market risk, risk management and a host of others. I am hopeful some of these discussions have caught your attention.
Obviously the year 2009 is a driver of many of these conversations; it was difficult for most dairy producers. Recent milk and feed markets have renewed these concerns over industry profitability.
“What’s corn going to do?” and “Where’s milk headed?” These are top-of-mind questions for dairymen.
While there have always been ups and downs, the past five years have felt more like Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.
From petroleum to feed to milk – it’s a big world out there and market volatility isn’t going away.
Several articles in this issue were inspired from published comments we’ve tracked down to more fully report on. Two of their backstories are detailed here.
‘Fragile consensus’
On July 11 the House Ag Committee spent 14 hours reviewing proposed Farm Bill legislation. I dropped into the live webcast at about the 22nd minute. Dairy reform took top billing then as the 46-member committee began discussing a controversial proposed amendment.
(Click here to read the story that explains the fireworks that ensued and what they were all about.) Chairman Frank Lucas (R-Oklahoma) said the following opening comments to frame the debate over dairy policy reform:
Junior, Iowa State University
Iowa Dairy Sales Intern with Alltech
Based in Ames, Iowa
Background
Q. What is your agricultural background?
My dairy background is quite unique. I did not grow up on a dairy farm, however, I have had a passion for showing dairy cattle since I was a clover kid.
In about 7th grade I started working on my uncle’s dairy farm: feeding calves, painting buildings, cleaning pens and relief milking. I also pursued dairy judging in high school through the FFA. It was these programs that allowed me to fall in love with the industry.
Senior, Virginia Tech
Dairy Genetics Intern with Genex
Based in Shawano, Wisconsin
Background
Q. What is your dairy background?
I’m the 6th generation to dairy on our land in East Tennessee and the 4th generation to own registered Jerseys. We have a 50-cow dairy on 300 acres, and I work with forage management and progeny marketing.
We’ve always focused on good breeding and making the most economical use of our land, and recently we’ve taken advantage of genomics to send several bulls to stud and increase our national herd rank to 17th.
Q. In what area are you pursuing a degree?
I graduated from Vanderbilt University with a bachelor's of arts in ecology, evolution & organismal biology in the spring of 2011, and I’m currently a rising senior at Virginia Tech pursuing a second degree, this time a bachelor's of science in dairy science.
Junior, University of Wisconsin – Madison
Progeny Promotions Intern with ABS
Based in DeForest, Wisconsin
Background
Q. What is your dairy background?
I don’t come from a dairy background, but with the help of my brother and many others I got involved in the dairy industry at an early age. Now my brother along with his wife and I own Car-Cor Holsteins and milk 65 cows since April 2011.
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