From consumable supplies, capital investment, parts and field equipment, customer service is an essential element for businesses that successfully supply dairy farms. Some businesses have learned customer service is more than just a reminder hanging on the wall in a break room.

Travel north on U.S. 131 through Michigan’s mitten. In the rear-view mirror lie fertile fields and expansive farms. Ahead lie timber, hunters’ paradise and Michigan’s playground of forests, lakes and outdoor sports.

Value-added opportunities for dairy farmers are one way to stabilize long-term dairy farm profitability, bring another generation into the business or grow without adding land and cows. As farm gate prices remain bleak over an extended period, some producers may be considering a move to on-farm, value-added processing for their dairy products.

The outlook for the Hoof Trimmers Association (HTA) was bleak in the late 1990s. Costs for conferences and other expenses outpaced income and membership dues.

From food to culture to the New Mexico heat and the sheer magnitude of the U.S. dairy industry, nothing could really prepare the international students who attended the U.S. Dairy Education Training Consortium (USDETC) in Clovis, New Mexico, for the experience they were about to embark upon this past spring.

Thanks to touchless ventilation and lighting technology borrowed from the swine and poultry industries, maintaining a consistent barn environment on one New York dairy is a breeze.