The author is the dairy development manager for Vita Plus of Madison, Wis. He is a member of the board of directors with Citizens State Bank of Loyal, Wis.
I always have to sit back in my chair and contemplate a quote from W. D. Hoard when I read one. These one liners were made years ago. They were made at a time when agriculture was still powered by raw horsepower. Just think about Hoard's statement from the June 2010 Hoards calendar. "There is a proposition that ought to govern those in the dairy business how to accrue profit out of present low prices." "1885!" How about that . . . even in the "Good Old Days" dairy producers struggled with low milk prices.
It is hard to fast forward and think about what the business of milking cows will look like 125 years from now. Just as in the past, the foundations are being set today for future generations yet to be born.However, there is one thing that I can be certain about. The Golden Rule of the Four-Legged Milk Stool will determine who is in the business of milking cows. If followed, these Golden Rules are 95 percent of the success formula. Show me a dairy producer who understands this concept and I will show you a successful farm.
Golden Rule: Understanding how to keep cows comfortable
The dairy cow is a creature of comfort. She does not understand checking accounts, banker demands, or milk marketing orders. This impressive animal directly responds to care. Sand-bedded free stalls, pastures when available, bedded pack barns, and comfortable mattresses with plenty of bedding material is what the dairy cow responds to. How well this is done will help determine her longevity.
She thinks every day is Thanksgiving and responds to being fed correctly. The care of moving her to the milking center partly determines how much milk she will produce. The attention she receives will have a direct relationship to her breeding back.
Cattle housing has come a long way from log barns to cross-ventilated housing. Who knows what will be discovered in barn design in the next 125 years. You can rest assured it will be the ultimate in cow comfort.
Golden Rule: Growing and buying high-quality feed:
The appetite of a dairy cow is huge. Keeping the rumen full is the name of the game. Ration quality determines the efficiency of production. My guess is 30,000-pound herd averages will be as common as 20,000- pound averages are today.
The average dairy cow has a lot more genetic capability locked up inside of her than we are receiving. The keys are hidden in the fields of forage and how to capture more with less loss. Future genetic advancements in crops will give the dairy cow rations unheard of today. Superior rations require purchases of what cannot be grown. The right selection and highest quality in this area will result in maximum production.
The land grant universities and the related dairy industry will provide future answers and ration calculation not even thought of today. In the meantime, feed your cows the highest-quality forage you can make and other ingredients you can buy.
Golden Rule: Understanding how to work with family and hired employees:
Unless you have a farm that you can run yourself, family and hired employees are key. Just like a personnel manager in any business, you have to be fair, friendly, and firm. If your personality is such that you are not good managing people, be smart enough to hire a good human resource person.
You have to give others responsibility and trust. If you have to look over everyone's shoulder for every task, life will be miserable for them and you. I have seen common owners develop some excellent people skills. Their dairies have grown and prospered because they have chosen to change their attitude of working with people for the positive.
Golden Rule: Understand the numbers:
In the past, if you took care of your crops and cattle, you were successful for the most part. Today's tight margins require dairy owners to know what cash flow numbers have the greatest impact on the balance sheet. They need to do projections and have some type of marketing concept. They know their cost of producing 100 pounds of milk. Dealing with future milk contracts is still a choice, but volatility in the cash milk market must be tamed. This may be done by working with milk plants, brokers, or other professionals. It will be interesting to see if milk management proposals will find legs and what future government programs will exist. In the meantime, a dairy producer must become a master at knowing his or her financials. It does not matter if the dairy producer does their own spreadsheets or an accountant does the work. The owner must understand the numbers.
A successful dairy producer today and in the future will understand the four legs of the milk stool. Milk stools in the future will only hang on walls as antiques. But the Golden Rule of the Four-Legged Milk Stool will live on as long as there are dairy cows.
This article appears on page 441 of Hoard's Dairyman's June 2010 issue.
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I always have to sit back in my chair and contemplate a quote from W. D. Hoard when I read one. These one liners were made years ago. They were made at a time when agriculture was still powered by raw horsepower. Just think about Hoard's statement from the June 2010 Hoards calendar. "There is a proposition that ought to govern those in the dairy business how to accrue profit out of present low prices." "1885!" How about that . . . even in the "Good Old Days" dairy producers struggled with low milk prices.
It is hard to fast forward and think about what the business of milking cows will look like 125 years from now. Just as in the past, the foundations are being set today for future generations yet to be born.However, there is one thing that I can be certain about. The Golden Rule of the Four-Legged Milk Stool will determine who is in the business of milking cows. If followed, these Golden Rules are 95 percent of the success formula. Show me a dairy producer who understands this concept and I will show you a successful farm.
Golden Rule: Understanding how to keep cows comfortable
The dairy cow is a creature of comfort. She does not understand checking accounts, banker demands, or milk marketing orders. This impressive animal directly responds to care. Sand-bedded free stalls, pastures when available, bedded pack barns, and comfortable mattresses with plenty of bedding material is what the dairy cow responds to. How well this is done will help determine her longevity.
She thinks every day is Thanksgiving and responds to being fed correctly. The care of moving her to the milking center partly determines how much milk she will produce. The attention she receives will have a direct relationship to her breeding back.
Cattle housing has come a long way from log barns to cross-ventilated housing. Who knows what will be discovered in barn design in the next 125 years. You can rest assured it will be the ultimate in cow comfort.
Golden Rule: Growing and buying high-quality feed:
The appetite of a dairy cow is huge. Keeping the rumen full is the name of the game. Ration quality determines the efficiency of production. My guess is 30,000-pound herd averages will be as common as 20,000- pound averages are today.
The average dairy cow has a lot more genetic capability locked up inside of her than we are receiving. The keys are hidden in the fields of forage and how to capture more with less loss. Future genetic advancements in crops will give the dairy cow rations unheard of today. Superior rations require purchases of what cannot be grown. The right selection and highest quality in this area will result in maximum production.
The land grant universities and the related dairy industry will provide future answers and ration calculation not even thought of today. In the meantime, feed your cows the highest-quality forage you can make and other ingredients you can buy.
Golden Rule: Understanding how to work with family and hired employees:
Unless you have a farm that you can run yourself, family and hired employees are key. Just like a personnel manager in any business, you have to be fair, friendly, and firm. If your personality is such that you are not good managing people, be smart enough to hire a good human resource person.
You have to give others responsibility and trust. If you have to look over everyone's shoulder for every task, life will be miserable for them and you. I have seen common owners develop some excellent people skills. Their dairies have grown and prospered because they have chosen to change their attitude of working with people for the positive.
Golden Rule: Understand the numbers:
In the past, if you took care of your crops and cattle, you were successful for the most part. Today's tight margins require dairy owners to know what cash flow numbers have the greatest impact on the balance sheet. They need to do projections and have some type of marketing concept. They know their cost of producing 100 pounds of milk. Dealing with future milk contracts is still a choice, but volatility in the cash milk market must be tamed. This may be done by working with milk plants, brokers, or other professionals. It will be interesting to see if milk management proposals will find legs and what future government programs will exist. In the meantime, a dairy producer must become a master at knowing his or her financials. It does not matter if the dairy producer does their own spreadsheets or an accountant does the work. The owner must understand the numbers.
A successful dairy producer today and in the future will understand the four legs of the milk stool. Milk stools in the future will only hang on walls as antiques. But the Golden Rule of the Four-Legged Milk Stool will live on as long as there are dairy cows.
