Forage may be in short supply this year, and one way to respond is to feed fewer mouths on the farm. Frankly, whether forage is short or not, it is always best to allocate your forage to the cattle that will return the most: the animals that are most productive. It is time to cull the animals most likely to be the least productive.

You know how irritating it is to get a pebble in your boot. Each step reminds you there is something down there. Maybe you are like me, and you think at first it will go away, or at least find a place in your boot that is less irritating.

With the current financial squeeze in agriculture, many have reduced their labor force and, therefore, asked for more work from fewer people: themselves, employees and their own family members.

The characterization of farmers is that they are stubbornly independent. Of course, characterizations are built upon some truth, but the reality is that farmers can’t afford to be totally independent. Farmers need each other.

It’s been a tough year for dairy farmers; milk prices have been low for two years, and in some places like Michigan, a deduction has taken another bite out of milk checks to cover the cost of milk sold at a loss by their cooperative.

In the big game this Sunday afternoon, highly trained players will coordinate their activities as precisely as they can against the onslaught of the other team. If all goes according to plan, the quarterback may throw the ball to a certain spot on the field where his receiver is supposed to be at just the right time. They call it teamwork. It is a thing of beauty when it happens!

I won’t say that you should treat your employees like cattle, but there are some good reminders for managing employees from the role of a cowboy moving cattle. Like them, your job is to ride herd. The most effective cowboys would say that involves the following responsibilities:

Editor’s note: The following article is the final article in a series from the author after a recent trip to observe China’s dairy industry. China was a significant importer of milk powder, accounting for 20 percent of the total global trading volume in 2013, importing more than 850,000 metric tonnes.

Editor’s note: The following article is the second in a series of articles from the author after a recent trip to observe China’s dairy industry. Click here to read the first article China's dairy industry: Bumps and bruises on the fast track.

Editor’s note: The following article is the first in a series of articles from the author after a recent trip to observe China’s dairy industry. Click here to read the second of the two part series Chinese milk quality: A question mark may be appropriate.