Now more than ever, dairy producers need to focus on the productivity of their farm operations using an inside resource: their employees.

“Nothing I say is going to change the economic outlook of the dairy industry,” John Blanchfield said, as he began his presentation on helping producers shockproof their finances in the current dairy market.

New Vision Farms is a unique partnership formed by three Ohio farmers, Rob Rettig, Rick Fruth and Mark Schwiebert, who together came up with a unique collaborative approach that has allowed them to continue a successful farming operation that produces popcorn; fresh market green beans; identity-preserved traited and non-GMO soybeans for seed, export and processing; identity-preserved soft red, hard red and hard white winter wheat for seed and milling; and yellow corn.

“We really don’t have a nutrient problem; we have a water problem,” states Galen Smith, partner and general manager of Coldstream Farm LLC in Deming, Washington.

Technology has changed how the herd is managed and decisions are made at Reuter Dairy in Peosta, Iowa, where Dan Reuter and his father, Rick, milk 900 cows with a 32,000-pound average and a somatic cell count (SCC) averaging 80,000 over the last 10 years.

Milk quality means something different for every stakeholder in the dairy industry, according to Brandon Treichler, DVM.

I stood in the bright August sunshine, looking into a pole barn filled with crop farmers as they listened to a no-till guru tout the benefits of cover crops and soil health.

Robotics have gained momentum in nearly every industry, and dairy technology is leading the charge. Several companies are successfully installing their robotic milking systems on dairy farms throughout the U.S.

Labor issues can be a challenge on any dairy farm. Attorney Karl Butterer of Foster, Swift, Collins and Smith, PC, explored labor policies, trends and employment pitfalls with dairy producers at the Great Lakes Regional Dairy Conference held in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan.

A good start in life and lactation are paramount to dairy profitability, and Kathryn Proudfoot, assistant professor at Ohio State University, explored using cow behavior as a management tool for maternity pen design.