I have to have a plan. I am constantly asking my husband, “What is the plan?” It drives him absolutely insane. It’s just how I am. I need to know what the day will look like, be able to glance at the week ahead and know what is coming up next month.

In June 2017, we embarked on what was going to be a roller-coaster ride for the next 16 months. It was that summer our dairy equipment company representative took the family on our first tour of robotic milking barns. We had started on the journey to modernize our dairy. As we went through the planning and construction, we learned many things. I want to share with you some of the things that we learned.

Resolutions, goals, words to live by – whatever you call it, it’s the same concept. You’re starting the year off by promising yourself and anyone who saw your Facebook post that you’ll be better than last year.

As farmers, sometimes we think that we can power through without help. We work when we’re hurt; we work when we’re sick; sometimes, we even work when we’re in labor with our fourth child. But we need to know that asking for help doesn’t make us weak. In fact, it’s just the opposite. Like getting a cast on our arm to heal a break, seeing a mental health professional can get us on the road to healing. As my mother-in-law recently told me, “We can’t always be superman.” Don’t let mental health be your kryptonite.

At a time when thousands of U.S. dairy operators of all sizes are starved for revenue, declaring bankruptcy or selling off multi-generational operations, the latest inequity is a particularly cruel twist of the knife.

Growing up as a child, my mom told me a number of times how difficult it was during the Great Depression. Her family had a dairy farm but were deeply in debt, and thus had no money. But since they farmed, they grew almost all the food they ate, so in that, they were greatly blessed.

With the holiday season at a close, it’s easy for most of us to move forward toward the New Year and lose sight of what made the last few months so special. Heart-warming feelings of generosity are soon replaced with resolutions and goals to chase. But for organizations like United Dairy Women, the New Year means new opportunities to continue giving back to those who need it most.

In my last column for Progressive Dairyman, I discussed how lower SCC limits are being put in place by processors and how the system of premiums for quality milk is potentially going to be replaced by an expectation of quality milk.