It was bound to happen, and one night it did. That 2-foot-high pile of papers and notes collected at continuing education events over the last few years fell over. The avalanche covered the 6-inch pile of papers I was somewhat currently working on and slid over to mesh with legal pads I use for meetings. These include notes from doctors meetings, financial meetings, drug distributor conferences, drug representative discussions and programs, and recent continuing education events.

You can judge me for the disarray that I harbor in my office, but there are a few points to consider. First, I took home notes on new products and expanded knowledge from these events. By attending the meetings and taking the notes, I was exposed to the information and know it exists. Organizing them for reference would be great, but there is a constant struggle between production in a busy business and developing capability for more work to be done. Cleaning and organizing is a desired but distant third.

Widen your perspective

Continuing education events are what separates those who try to stay up to date with our industry happenings and profession from my classmates who have one year of experience they’ve gone through 37 times. I have an appetite for learning, and I can name the dairy producers that do, too. They make less costly mistakes than the dairies that get their information from a single source, which may be their brother-in-law or a salesperson.

I challenge you to take part in the continuing education options that are available to you. Some dairy farmers go to meetings of professional organizations like the Dairy Calf and Heifer Association, Dairy Cattle Reproduction Council, regional nutrition meetings, National Mastitis Council, Professional Dairy Producers, Northeast Dairy Producers Association, World Dairy Expo, Quad State, and many others. These meetings offer up-to-date information on managing cows and the people who care for them. There may also be opportunities close to home with local extension and veterinary clinic meetings. Whatever fits your schedule, do that.

I once fought and won an uphill battle bringing agricultural education back to our local school district. There was a contingent, some of whom were farmers, that believed that you learn how to farm from your father. There certainly are skills that get passed down that way, but this industry continues to evolve, and it would be a rare senior partner who could coach a farm team through all of those developments.

Become dynamic

As we’ve continued down the education path, we have found that knowledge fosters a seeking of more knowledge. We realize what we don’t know and recognize that if we do what we’ve always done, we will always get what we’ve always gotten. That isn’t going to work in an industry that is moving right along. It wasn’t that long ago that we could only dream of production averages over 100 pounds of milk, pregnancy rates over 30%, and 300-bushel corn yields. Now, those achievements are found up and down the road. They have become common because of the knowledge and skills we have gained.

Sick cows have become less common for many reasons. If you are a nutritionist, you see how much nutrition has improved. If you are a feeder, you see how diets are more consistent, more regularly delivered, and more diligently pushed up. If you are a geneticist, you point to the improvements in disease resistance. If you design barns, you see how many stressors have been taken away from modern dairy cows so they can stay healthy and reach their potential. If you are a milk quality specialist, you see how improved milking technique, equipment, and housing have reduced the incidence of the most costly disease of dairy cattle. If you are a calf and heifer specialist, you point to all the progress we have made in housing, nutrition, and vaccination that makes heifers healthier.

If you are a dairy farm owner or manager, you look at all of these things. Every part of our industry will continue to change. Staying on top of the changes is needed to be in the top 20% of farms in production and financial parameters. Ten years from now, those will be the dairies still in business. You cannot stagnate. When you hesitate because you are waiting for a child to return to the farm, to get the farm paid off, for your labor situation to improve, or for a senior partner to retire, you may determine the future, or lack thereof, for your farm.

Attempts beat inaction

Getting more knowledge from your available sources is the easy part. What you do with it is the real work.

Think about if what you learned fits your business. Verify if the results reported are true. This may require a farm visit or at least a discussion. Once this is done, designing your implementation plan and actually doing it can take place.

Part of this is determining how to measure results. I hope you have all the results you expect. Even if you don’t, you did something by attempting to move in the right direction. The challenge of management is knowing when to do something versus standing by. Knowledge is what improves our dairies. When that opportunity comes, say yes.

I have some sorting, recycling, and filing to say yes to. Then, I’ll design a plan to implement some of the knowledge we’ve gathered to help improve the dairies in our practice area.