Upselling is defined as “a sales technique whereby a seller induces the customer to purchase more expensive items, upgrades, or other add-ons in an attempt to make a more profitable sale.” If there is any industry that has been exposed to the full range of upselling, it has to be dairy farming. 

The Good the Bad and the Upsell!!

Having access to the right products is good.  Wasting time searching for the right match is bad.  Spending beyond your means can signal an upsell.  You don’t want to finish a transaction and discover that you have just purchased something you either didn’t really need or don’t know how to use.  Especially annoying is realizing that the salesperson driving out your lane feels great about discovering a vein of gold on your operation or at least some silver to mine. Meanwhile, you may feel used or, at the very least, somewhat tarnished by a transaction that ended in an upsell.

“FACT:  If you are in the business of running a dairy operation, you very likely have been upsold at one time or another.”

Everyone connected to milk production wants to dip into your pot of money. Equipment. Semen. Feed. Ration Formulation. Health services. You feel constantly pressured by those whose input or product is necessary for your business.  You need them.  However, every supplier takes some of your time and a lot of decision making and, at the end of the day, you may not be fully convinced that you are getting the best value for the money.  For instance:  where was the value in all that time taken to listen?

The litmus test for every purchase should be based on results.  Increased income or reduced costs must be assessed from a measured-results perspective. Perhaps two pieces of equipment save operator time or do multiple tasks but what impact do those features have on your primary dairy operation goals? Is it better for the cows or for the ego?

Upselling works best when it provides a win for both parties

Regardless of the product or service that you need, you should always look for ways to get the best value out of a purchase. You should look for ways to go beyond the simple exchange of money paid for a service or product.  Find an option that meets specific needs. For example, it is a definite plus if smaller dairy manager can benefit from the hands-on experience of larger operations.  If that information can impact change in a positive – and measurable – way, that’s great upselling. If it merely makes you spend beyond your limit…it’s bad upselling!

How Well-Trained Are Your Up Sellers?

If the salespeople coming unto your farm are well-trained by their companies, they know the art of upselling.  That’s their job.  Should you automatically resist and fight for a lower price?

Not always! Instead, see if these four conditions are present. 1. They want your money. 2.  They want your business. 3.  They care about your cows. 4. They care about your business.

These are four facts that must be present for you to interact well with sellers. There is no value to you of the person is only looking out for their own numbers exclusively and isn’t interested in what’s best for your dairy operation. Although financial stability is the goal of every dairy operator, dealing with sales pressure goes beyond fighting against upselling.  It’s all about better results.

Here are five upsells and what they mean to dairy owners and managers.  

1. “Would You Like Fries with That?”
   One of the most common forms of upselling are the six words, “Would you like fries with that?” We recognize it and often say “Yes!” while in the drive through, but it is also happening in our dairy operations.  Representatives of vet services, nutrition and feed suppliers and equipment salespeople offer their version. “Would you like more semen?” “More tonnage?” “More horsepower? This a classic upsell. The most common reaction is “sure,” and bingo, you’ve just added an extra cost to the bill. Money has changed hands but are the results better?
2. Go ahead. “Take if for a Test Drive.” OR “Try Before You Buy.”
   Personally speaking, this is the upsell method that often works to get me to spend.  The value of seeing how the product works converts most skeptics to supporters – providing that the product does what it claims. It’s natural when faced with spending a lot of money that there can be a reluctance to get off the fence too quickly.  The opportunity to use the product can often result in them selling themselves. The further effect of this is that the person who has taken the test drive or used the product becomes part of the company sales team because of their endorsement of the product.
3. “For a Limited Time, we have This Offer JUST FOR YOU!” 
   We all love to be appreciated. To be appreciated with a gift is especially rewarding. LOL. How do you respond when you hear, “This month’s order comes with a windbreaker?” If you’re like me, you quickly feel that jacket cutting the early morning chill.” Some folks are most susceptible to a new cap! Who among us would turn down a pass or trip to World Dairy Expo or the Royal Winter Fair? At first, it sounds like an irresistible freebie. After all, you have to wear the proper clothing. Why not make a fashion statement? If one of your favorite dairy getaways in Dairy Expo or the Royal, why not accept a pass or invitation that comes with a purchase that you’re going to make anyway? Provided you were going to make it anyway.  And provided there are no other strings attached such as sponsorships or donations or endorsements?  Darn.  It is always best to ask those pesky second questions.
4. “Work with us. We know how to WALK THE TALK.”
   Glib buzz words must include action. Some salespeople do all their talking on the phone.  Others stand in your doorway or barn alley and expect to close the sale without looking closely at your operation.   Look for the salesperson, vet or nutritionist that wants to see their product in the setting it will work in.  These people make recommendations based on your specific needs.  They don’t read them from an instruction manual or sales pamphlet or product brochure. A bad upsell turns into a good upsell when the person you’re working with is committed to matching what works best for dairy and for the cows. 
   How refreshing would it be to have someone who is willing to walk the cows? A person who provides a knowledgeable second pair of eyes from a vantage point that is closer than the farm lane or telephone?  A great second question to ask anyone selling to your farm is, “Do you see what I see?” Sometimes familiarity blinds us to gradual changes. An objective viewpoint an be very valuable. They may catch BCS as being too low or too high.  Or they could spot impending herd lameness. Or see that there is not enough sand in the free stalls.
   Don’t look at too narrow a window, whether it’s yours or a salesperson’s.  You have to go beyond simply adding to inventory, or tools or equipment.  There is a temptation to make a purely monetary exchange and ask the seller to beat the competition on price only.  This is a short-term gain.  But, in the long term, neither side wins.
5. “Let’s talk about VALUE ADDED.” “For EVERYBODY.”
   Offering and receiving value added is part of upselling. The key here is that both the buyer and the seller must understand exactly what value is being provided. A vague promise of future benefits is not a real value-added proposition. Although the idea of a quick fix is appealing, the very nature of operating a dairy business means that the simple answer could in itself be a problem. Value turns on ability. Sustainability. Profitability.  Dependability.

There are many ways to add value.  

Great companies know how to provide value.  They work the numbers. They provide formulas.  They provide logistics. They can demonstrate with examples. They are willing and able to set up training that helps staff in responding to a variety of situations, “If this happens … do this.”  Value-added must clearly demonstrate how slightly added cost or changed protocols will provide measurable improvement.

Seek out a vet, supplier or sales rep that has a meaningful story of what the product could do for the operation. Be open to new information. Training and follow up is invaluable. It’s not upselling if you have been shown respect for your goals and the time and effort it takes to achieve them. The right person is not afraid of investing their time and effort into achieving a good outcome. This will build a relationship that goes beneath the surface transaction. That is why these sellers are not afraid to ask for a decision. They know how to interpret trends. Is it a downturn? Or an opportunity? Or is the product or procedure outdated? When you find the person that fits all these requirements…there is nothing to fear in being upsold!”

The Bullvine Bottom Line

“The thing about dealing with salespeople is that the minute someone gets on the phone or walks in the door, you are in danger of being upsold. Squeezing clients for short-term profits from upselling is not just bad for customers. It’s bad for business. When it’s done right, a good upsell leaves both sides—customer and seller—feeling like they’ve won. High five!!

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We love identifying winners. Dairy winning includes identifiable achievements such as winning showmanship at a regional 4H show, Grand at WDE, Junior All-American in milking form, top gTPI Heifer for the month or having a young bull that enters AI with over-the- top health and fertility indexes.  These are all about standing in the winning limelight of our dairy world. However, winning in the show ring or on financial, health or genetic records, always comes back to the human team as the foundation.  A-Team scrutiny raises key questions. How was is it selected? Where was the talent found?  How were the all-star bits and pieces managed into becoming an all-star dairy team?

Drafting and Managing an All-Star Dairy Team

I love this time of year in North America.  Sports lovers are inundated with the two extremes of playoffs and new seasons occurring simultaneously.  Baseball. Football. Soccer. Basketball. On the field and in the headlines, every sport has one goal.  Winning. Whether the season is ending or just beginning, winning depends on picking the best and then managing a Team of All-Stars.

Just like sports managers do, successful dairy managers must form teams that can win. The team must work to carry out their most important initiatives.  It isn’t unheard of to build dairy teams from whoever is available.  However, the most successful dairies consistently select their very best talent, to tackle the dairy’s highest priority issues: monitoring health, ration balancing, feed mixing and heat detection.  The list can seem endless but basing team choices only on availability can result in enormous missed opportunities. Using well-selected teams can make a measurable difference in achieving goals.  It can be even more significant if this is an under-achieving area of the operation.

Know Your Best Talent.  Put them in the Most Effective Position.

Perhaps everyone on your dairy team knows all the basic skills of the operation. But that is very seldom the case, unless the size of your team is less than three individuals. What separates an all-star from the also-rans, is knowing who has a special talent for specific assignments.  Who has the patience to manage difficult calvings without resorting to pulling too soon?  Who has the eye to recognize changes in eating behavior, resting or mobility patterns and cares enough to learn how to respond effectively? Who walks the animals and pays attention to the manure? Who has the interest in tracking data that may impact the discovery of weaknesses in your breeding program? Who can use a cell phone to capture and transmit herd events? You may know that some of your team have better skills but you may not fully recognize just how much better they are because day-to-day logistics are done pretty much the same way all the time.  

When it comes to daily routine the aim is for everyone to perform at a high level.  This is achieved if each team member is committed to performing the tasks with consistency and care.  That works for the repeatable, routine tasks. However, for creative or highly unstructured work, like bunk management or delivering first calf heifers or using observation to discover issues, the best team members can be many times more effective than the average. It isn’t about carrying out the routine.  It is about responding to the exceptional issues, including animals under stress.  The best do more and do it better.

How Many “Bests” are on Your High Priority Teams?

Dairy team managers make a great start when they accurately identify the strengths of each dairy team member.  Teaming great talent together multiplies the force and exponentially multiplies productivity and effectiveness.  After all, two heads are almost always better than one.  But with star talent, this relationship becomes more extreme.  Imagine putting your best heifer handler together with your best nutrition manager and then bring them under the direction of your best logistics person.  A three-member team, comprised entirely of A-players, can produce much more output than an average team. They set new protocols.  Achieve new benchmarks.  And look for “better” all the time!

How Many Jobs?  How Many Teams?

A milking-pit crew can be compared to NASCAR pit crews.  There are many jobs and many ways to get the best flow-through, while not sacrificing the priority goals – speed (in racing) or production (in milking). 

One of my vicarious enjoyments is watching pit crews in NASCAR races. Their performance can be objectively measured. Research tells me that a standard pit in a NASCAR race involves more than 70 separate tasks, such as refueling and changing all four tires. The best complete a standard pit in just 12.12 seconds. It’s remarkable to watch!   Now ask yourself what would happen if one of those all-star, year round trained members was to be replaced with an average tire changer.  You would still have strength on the team but with each average replacement, the productivity of the entire team declines.

Saving half an hour in milking time will reduce the cost for milkers or allow workers to use the saved half hour to conduct herd walks to find animals off-feed or not going to the manager to eat.  A players provide invaluable flexibility to adapt to change and resolve potential issues.

You have a great team.  Do you have a great manager?

Working under great leaders or managers further magnifies the production of extraordinary teams. Not all dairy team leaders are alike – in the same way that not all coaches are alike.  Great coaches get better performance out of their teams than mediocre ones do.  They are effective because they are better at encouraging each member of the team to play up to his or her full potential.

Economic studies have found that leaders that rank in the top 10% of their industry can affect the productivity of an average team. If they only do that by about 10%, on a nine-member team that would be equal to adding another team member.  It seems to be born out that they can raise the output of an all-star team as well, even though that all-star team was already significantly higher to begin with.

Great sports managers and great team leaders are able to improve the performance of whatever team they are working with —regardless of whether it’s average or all-star.

On a dairy farm, having nine highly effective workers, instead of ten to eleven average workers, provides a top manager with the ability to remunerate the nine at a higher rate and still have savings. Proper remuneration is not only a motivator but it also is part of the A-team philosophy of recognizing the value of always targeting improvement and achieving dairy goals.

Five Actions to Bring out The All-Star Qualities of Your Dairy Team

1. Identify star talent

Identifying and managing extraordinary teams offers the potential for exceptional dairy productivity and performance.  Unfortunately, too many dairies fail to realize this hidden potential. You may have done a good job of setting up protocols and following them.  Is there a method of feedback for finding people who care about making a good method better and better achievement the best?

2. Assemble all-star teams

Putting together scarce star talent can’t be done if it is reduced to an afterthought that happens by lucky accident. Real winners know that finding the A dairy team goes beyond identifying exceptional abilities. It means putting them together to raise the bar on the results being targeted. If the measure of success is accepted as daily average achievement, you will only find average performers.  Seek out those who have a willingness to go beyond what is expected.

3. Target three priorities as all-star initiatives

If you are more interested in statistics — bank numbers, production numbers or herd size numbers, your dairy will likely become a statistic and not necessarily an exceptional one. There is a very real danger at both ends of the number game.  You either target too many priorities or you are using too narrow a focus.  Instead, start with three areas where you will assemble your all-star talent.  Three examples might be feeding, breeding and milking.  Don’t expect everyone on the team to star at all three.  Find the best.  Give them the training, tools, and empowerment. Let them show what they can do. Quite often the recognition of individual talents inspires whole teams to raise their level of effectiveness. Another area that might gain from A-team input is the need to analyze and improve calf management.

4. You can’t rest on last year’s record.

Don’t underestimate the competition. Don’t underestimate the impact of changing conditions. Nothing surprises leaders and managers more than being surprised by failure. Exceptional achievement doesn’t mean doing everything the same as you did it, when you won last time.  It means being effective today.  Winning isn’t a static formula.  It’s an attitude. It’s not the system that is to be relied upon.  It’s the winning attitude. Every day.  Every way.

5. Manage team member egos

Perhaps the biggest limiting factor from that works against having an all-star dairy team is the fear that, by seeking out and using all-stars, it will mean that personal egos will get in the way of team effectiveness.  The 24/7 nature of dairy managing would seem to be best served when the drama of competition and recognition are reduced to the lowest common denominator.  But, unless all members are inspired by personal contribution to the team goals, the effectiveness of the team will also slide toward that “lowest common denominator”.   

The Bullvine Bottom Line

Too often dairy managers follow outmoded practices for assembling their feeding, breeding and milking teams. They are then easily outperformed by All-Star managers, who aren’t afraid to identify, assemble and manage all star dairy teams.  Go ahead. Put together an A-team and then make sure that they are given A-team remuneration! What will happen? Without a doubt, your dairy team will have a winning season!!  

These early days of September see many students starting back to classes.  Parents, teachers and the students themselves are focused on making sure that the education they are receiving is the one that will best prepare them for a life career that is rewarding.

Every industry requires a specialized set of skills — and the dairy industry is no exception.

Recently on The Milk House, Thomas Lilley had questions about Ag education as it applied to his current goals and life plan. 

The first question was put this way. “Hey guys, I am just wondering, at what stage does a university graduate become “over educated” to be employable as a farm hand?”

Thomas Lilley, then narrowed down to, “I’m wondering as I’m currently finishing my third year studying at University and I could graduate with a degree in Agriculture, or could return for a fourth year and graduate with a degree in Agricultural Sciences with or without honors, both with a focus on Animal Science and Genetics.”

The third part dealt with seeking further guidance, as the questioner zeroed in on mentorship advice, “I was just wondering your opinions as employers and in terms of possibly obtaining financial backing to purchase my own farm someday.”

When Does Enough Education Become Too Much?

Calling someone overeducated is often meant as an insult or used without justification by people of less education, simply as a means of tearing down someone’s accomplishments when you don’t like them. The education in question may actually be perfectly suited to the task at hand. However, since we don’t walk around wearing our degrees, the evidence of our education should be in the work completed not in the statement that we have it.

Advice from Those Who are Willing to Share.

The discussion on the Milk House was good. One member encouraged Lilley to “Finish your education. You never know where you might be in the future. If something happens down the road that you aren’t working on farm or owning your own farm, you will need a degree most likely to work in industry. You don’t want to lose out on a good job because you didn’t finish your degree. ” Another member, Emily Hill, summed up a great answer by saying” If you won’t be bored, finish now.  Even if you go on for another eight years, you will not be “annoying” to an employer or co-workers if you are humble, respectful, hard-working and patient. In farm work, everyone is busting their ass. The annoyance comes when you act like you’re somehow better. That’s NOT just in farm work. That’s just good life advice. ”

Making the Best Educational Choices

Getting an education that will prepare you for a career in agriculture starts with the two-pronged decision of where you will study and what your education will focus on.  It isn’t unusual for young students to be confused about the vast number of choices they’re facing.  It is, therefore, wise to seek input and mentoring.  Keeping an open mind and not settling for “easy” or “fast” are part of the first steps to consider.

Students are faced with a full spectrum of career studies. They vary enormously and include everything from genetics, engineering, science, finance and general labor. In addition to the hard skills learned in formal studies, employers today recognize that it is important to grow the soft skills that will make it possible for you to stand out in a competitive agricultural work environment.  Competition is the modern reality. Indeed, competition continues beyond classroom test results, is highlighted throughout job interviews and then is a driving force of achieving goals and priorities in the workplace.

Is Agriculture Facing Degrees of Ineffectiveness?

The more people that have the extra degrees, the more companies will expect them as standard. This becomes the new normal.  The bachelor’s degree is already a standard prerequisite. Some employers insist on a Master’s Degree, or Ph.D. Education has become a commodity, and further education has moved from furthering knowledge to a check-off for being employable. It is important not to lose the effectiveness of education.  A wall of framed certificates is useless if it doesn’t contribute to Ag business outcomes.

AgBackground and Work Experience Are Cumulative Assets

Although it’s rare, it’s not impossible, for someone outside of agriculture to be interested in seeking an agricultural career.  In the case of the young person seeking advice on the Milk House, there already was a connection to dairying. “I have been raised on a dairy farm, and have worked on other dairy farms for the past five years.” This can certainly be an asset but, having said that, it’s never too late to start to build or continue building a resume of experience that supports success in the ag industry.

Four Skills to Develop in Tandem with Education

Education doesn’t happen in a vacuum.  Everything you are exposed to can add to your education and prepare you for success in the dairy industry.  Four that are often identified by employers, consultants, and financial planners are:

1. Adaptability
2. Interpersonal communication skills
3. Time management and organization
4. Tech Savvy

Adaptability

Being able to adapt to changing situations is important to most careers in agriculture.  Whether you are on the farm or consulting or supplying the industry, the very nature of agriculture means that there are constant seasonal and economic changes to respond to. It is exciting, when studying, to be exposed to the leading edge of science and technology relating to the industry.  Then it is absolutely vital to be able to adapt what you learned in the classroom to develop a solution and come up with a plan for situations faced on the farm or in an ag job. Being able to do so, could mean the difference between the success or failure of the farm operation.

Ag business also benefits when adaptability is a polished skill. Ag professionals need to learn to adapt quickly to meet changing consumer demands, not just as a group but from farm to farm. New challenges are always presenting themselves. Not only must ag professionals respond to arising challenges, but they will also be expected to have skill in predicting what new challenges lie ahead.

Interpersonal Communication skills

For agriculture professionals, interpersonal skills are incredibly important.  They are required to interact with farmers, other industry professionals and with labs and production sites producing materials for use on the farm. This requires an understanding of the communication styles of a wide range of individuals.  It also depends on clearly communicating the assessments and possible solutions that will work best to resolve problems and move the business forward. Effective professionals must be able to listen to the needs of their suppliers and consumers.  The goal is to ensure all needs and targets are met while developing good business relationships that contribute to longevity. Finally, strong interpersonal skills are necessary for those involved in public relations, sales, advertising or any area of expertise that relies heavily upon effective, strategic communication.

Time management and organization skills

Quite often the development of strong time management and organization skills is a byproduct of extended educational studies. These skills are a tremendous asset when breaking into the agriculture industry. It goes without saying, that agriculture professionals working in logistics must have effective organizational abilities. Many agricultural professionals not only work with a variety of products but they also interact with a variety of farmers and numerous clients.  Time management and organization are also important to laborers, farms and machine operators.  With the constant variables of weather, seasonal price fluctuations and workforce supply and demand, it can be a challenge to maintain schedules and consumer and client demands.

Tech-savvy

Technology is a leading change producer in all areas of agriculture.  Knowledge of where it is going is incredibly important to anyone desiring to work effectively in the industry. It is absolutely necessary to maintain competence in computer skills, including using a company or farm specific software and interpreting data. Technology is always evolving and will require a selective focus on things ranging from genetics to nutrition to health advances.  Technology is there to assist in improving methods and techniques of breeding, data collection, finances and feed harvest, storage, and transport.

Agriculture professionals need to embrace technological development.  Professionals, particularly farming owners and operators, should always be aware of what new technologies may offer and determine whether adopting new techniques, instruments and advancements are beneficial to their dairy venture.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

When it comes to getting an agricultural education, it is not about learning a set of skills and then being “prepared” for life.  It’s about learning to continuously learn over the course of your whole career.  Progressive employers, farm owners, and farm managers look for lifelong learners. They never say, “Stop! That’s too much!”

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I am really excited because you are actually starting to read this article on Heat Stress. At The Bullvine, we know that the frequency of Heat Stress articles might work against your decision to read one more.  The normal reaction would be to say, “Oh yeah.  I know Heat Stress like the back of my hand.”  The problem is we have all heard about it. We agree with the idea of dealing with it.  But, have we eliminated the effects of heat stress from our dairy herds? No.

The facts tell different, but likewise oft repeated, stories of failure.   Reduced feed intake. Less milk production. Lower butterfat percent. And, topping the list, poor or even stopped reproductive performance!

Knowing heat stress is not so much about learning to know it like the back of your hand. It’s more like fighting to keep it from slipping to the back of your mind.

We all know what it’s like to try to work in extreme conditions. Or do we?  Recently a friend was called for Jury Duty.  No problem.  Well, no problem until the AC in the courthouse failed, and everyone there spent the morning with no relief from the rising heat or the increasing stress.  Long story short. Later that night, there was an emergency trip to ER and much concern about heart, lungs and respiration. The verdict.  Don’t ignore the signs of heat stress.

If You’ve GOT HEAT, you’ve GOT STRESS!

Coming from Ontario, Canada or areas of the Midwestern USA, we might have only six or seven days of excessively high heat occurring one or two times during the summer season.  But, even if it isn’t extended as it is in many southern states, it is important to remember that cows start to be stressed at sixty-eight degrees Fahrenheit or 18 degrees centigrade. When the outdoor temperature is above 80 degrees (27 degrees Centigrade) for extended periods, problems turn into high-risk situations.  This is where the good managers are separated from everyone else.  They don’t settle for losses.  They don’t aim for mediocre.

Do You Know the EARLY Signs of Heat Stress?

Of course, if cows are panting rapidly or going down, you can be sure they are at risk.  But long before the obvious signs of crisis, cattle are beginning to suffer from heat stress.  Continuous hot days and nights don’t provide any break in the cycle of high temperatures and cows quickly stop eating in an effort to reduce the heat coming from rumen fermentation. One thing leads to another.  Less feed in the rumen means less fermentation.  Along with less volatile fatty acid production, there is a reduction in rumen microbes and metabolizable protein.  This reduction in feed intake reduces milk production by more than 10% or down as much as a gallon or more per cow per day. Heat stress also reduces the butterfat level (0.2-0.3%). These conditions now open the door to other health issues, including reduced reproductive performance. 

Reproduction Declines as Heat Stress Rises

There is a direct correlation between heat stress and fertility. A three-year US trial reported on the winter to summer drop in confirmed pregnancies.  In winter 30% were confirmed, results dropped to 10 to 15% in summer.

Be Alert to the Ongoing Heat Stress Effects

As mentioned, reduction of feed intake is an automatic response by cows suffering from heat stress. Several points should be noted about the effects that this produces:

• Digestion of forages causes more heat accumulation than the digestion of grains.
• Animals on a higher forage ration are more inclined to heat stress than animals on higher grain
• Cows will sort vigorously to eat more grain than forage.
• Early lactation and higher yielding cows are the first to be affected.

It is good management to be alert to these signs when they occur in the cattle we care for. Careful observation of the condition of the feed in the feed bunk is an absolute must do.

Once into a cycle of hot days and nights, cows experiencing severe heat stress, produce less milk.  In extreme cases, death from heat stress can occur.

What Can Be Done?  What Must Be Done?

There are three main areas to consider when trying to relieve bovine heat stress.  First look at the exterior sources of heat.  Then consider what can be done to affect heat producing digestion. Finally, look for opportunities to provide direct and indirect cooling of the cows.

• Under the Sun: It seems almost too obvious to say that we must be aware of direct solar radiation from the sun.  Whether your cows are on pasture or in the barn, it is important to do what you can to moderate exposure to extremely high temperatures. Many dairy cattle are dark colored and this too raises their susceptibility to heat stress. Out of doors make sure that cattle have access to shade and fresh feed and water.  Watch out for wet conditions that can add high humidity to the risks coming from high temperatures.  If the outdoors isn’t an effective solution, keep cows in the barn.
• Inside the Barn: Getting proper air flow around the cattle in the barn will make a huge difference in cow comfort during excruciating weather conditions. Set up the maximum natural ventilation, preferably cross ventilation, and use fans to effectively increase air flow.
  With the air moving then turn your attention to ways to use water to cool the air and the cows. A fine mist will work to cool the air and thus make it easier for cattle to breathe.  In addition, it might be necessary to provide direct wetting of the cows.  This will enhance evaporative cooling on the skin surface of the cows.  Once again, too much wetting is not necessarily better. You don’t want to have so much water that it washes off the teat dip, wets the bedding or raises the humidity to unacceptable levels. It is especially important to avoid overcrowding!  A reduction in cows could have a positive effect on the production of the remaining cows.  This solution could offset the losses in milk production caused by overcrowded, heat-stressed
• At the Feed Trough: Work with your feeding team and nutrition consultants to provide a ration that include high quality, highly digestible forage. Feed your highest producing cows the best quality feed. Consider formulations that involve using fat to maintain energy intake during declining feed intake.
• In the Milk Line: Little adjustments in all areas of the dairy cow day have the potential to reduce heat stress. If it is an option, increasing milking frequency might be one way to moderate heat stress. 3x milking means less heat stress, particularly on heavily producing cows.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

Managing heat stress in cows is up to you. Don’t procrastinate. Reduce exposure to the environment.  Take direct steps to keep cattle feeling cool.  Use ration formulations that reduce as much as possible heat from metabolization. Don’t accept meltdown. Keep good records.  Keep your cool.

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If there is one long lived, rarely defeated dragon in dairying, it is Mastitis.  Despite heroic efforts, many a knight in shining armor (aka vets, farmers, researchers) has tried to save fair damsels (aka cows) and lost. Furthermore, the dragon Mastitis has grown ever more powerful and costs the dairy industry $2 billion dollars annually because of treatment costs, discarded milk, lost milk production, vet services, lost premiums and reduced cull values. And the list keeps growing!

When a quest takes place in a movie or fairy tale, there are tests and challenging obstacles to overcome.  In the dairy quest for Freedom from Mastitis, there have been countless very real challenges to overcome.  Here are five outcomes of some of these battles and forecasts of more to come:

1. In 1986, compliance with the federal bulk tank somatic cell count (SCC) standard of 750,000cells per milliliter (cell/mL) was instituted.
2. The limit could be lowered again to 400,000 cell/mL in the near future.
3. There is the ongoing challenge of being profitable in a market of ever-volatile input and milk prices.
4. The mounting concern about antibiotic resistance in human medicine is causing antibiotic mastitis therapy to be looked at more critically.
5. Because the goal is to seek to prevent mastitis infections from happening at all, the quest is changing from defense to complete elimination

From Defense to Elimination

Eliminating mastitis is indeed a quest of very large proportions as explained by Lorraine Sordillo, a mastitis researcher at Michigan State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, “When I began researching mastitis 30 years ago, we concentrated heavily on epidemiology and microbiology. Now we are placing much greater emphasis on immunology and enhancing the cow’s natural defenses to minimize mastitis infections.”

Sordillo expresses that progress in managing mastitis owes a lot to adherence to the “5-Point Plan for Mastitis Management,” issued decades ago by the National Mastitis Council.

The hallmarks of the 5-Point Plan are (1) teat disinfection; (2) dry-cow antibiotic therapy; (3) use of functionally adequate milking machines; (4) antibiotic therapy for clinical mastitis infections, and (5) culling of chronic cows.  Steve Nickerson, University of Georgia Professor of Animal and Dairy Science suggests nine more ways of reducing mastitis prevalence and SCC levels:

1. herd surveillance and
2. recordkeeping,
3. environmental sanitation,
4. strategic culling,
5. vaccination,
6. teat sealants,
7. herd biosecurity,
8. dietary supplementation and
9. mastitis control in bred heifers.

Now the Quest is for Immunity

A quest always has to be larger than life. When you take into account that 137 organisms cause mastitis (Watts 1988), trying to develop vaccines for all of them certainly qualifies as a huge undertaking. Even though that quest is unlikely to be entirely won, Sordillo, nevertheless, has positive expectations about the prospects for mastitis vaccine technology. “The mammary gland is unique in that you can vaccinate it separately, targeting individual cell populations to trigger an immune response,” she said and goes on to explain, “Sub-unit vaccines, which target specific peptides that contribute to disease progression, are the focus of current research.” Sordillo calls for “fresh thinking in development of the adjuvants that serve as the carrier for vaccine delivery.”

In the fight against invasive pathogens, the ultimate goal is to enhance cows’ immune system so that they can ward them off.  There are commercially available mastitis vaccines called bacterins.  This means that because they help the cow’s immune system recognize the core structure of the target bacteria, they are more effective at helping cows fight new infections rather than preventing them.

Immunity Through Nutrition and Supplementation

Another option is to enhance immunity through nutrition.  Today this is Sordillo’s primary area of research. The concept is that immunity is affected by all health events.  If there is a challenge in one area – such as uterine infection, metritis or another condition — the immune system is busy healing in the challenged area and, as Sordillo notes, “It lets down its guard in other areas.” The goal is optimal immunity being derived from optimal nutrition. Both Sordillo and Nickerson feel that nutritional supplements have the potential for supporting immunity. “Dietary supplements with trace minerals and vitamins can have immune-modulatory effects on the mammary system.” Nickerson foresees that supplement uses will expand. “We believe supplemental yeast acts as a probiotic, supporting rumen microflora and digestion, particularly in early lactation,” he said.

Using Genomics to Breed for Disease Resistance

Genomics is another area that holds promise, but it is clear that progress in this area could be a long way off. “It is important to recognize that in trying to zero in on mastitis immunity with genomic selection, there is the risk of an adverse impact on other immune channels.  This is an evolving area of genetic selection and more data, research and trials are needed to keep the forward momentum.  Optimizing host defenses especially during times such as dry-off would have a tremendously positive impact.

The Role of Antibiotics Has Dramatically Changed

Researchers agree antibiotic therapy always will be part of the mastitis offense; many feel that its role will change. “Through regulation and our own proactive efforts, I think we will be seeing increased veterinary involvement, and more emphasis on susceptibility testing in the future,” Sordillo said. “Prophylactic antibiotic use, such as whole-herd dry-cow therapy, probably will not continue as we know it today.”

Immune-stimulating additives explored

The bigger the challenge, the more opportunities there are for exploring new frontiers.  Feed additives that can support the immune system are attempting to do that. The goal is to develop the ability of the animal’s body to discern between its own naturally occurring molecules and substances that are foreign. Supplements that can achieve this without risk of toxicity of tissue damage are being developed.

Micronutrient Supplementation

Researchers such as Sordillo and Streicher (2002) target development of micronutrient supplements while keeping main priorities: 

1. increasing effective and sustained immunity
2. without adding risks of toxicity of tissue damage.

Georgia Trial with 40 Prefresh Heifers

It is informative to review the results of a commercially available additive that was evaluated by researchers at the University of Georgia.

Overview of the Trial:  A dietary supplement containing B-complex vitamins and yeast extract was fed daily to 40 prefresh heifers from five months of age until calving. Using a control group of 40 untreated heifers, researchers compared the health and milk production of the two groups.

Summary of the Research Findings:

• From 5 to 20 months of age, supplemented heifers had higher systemic levels of the molecule L-selectin, which is a measure of the ability of white blood cells to be mobilized from the blood stream and attack invasive organisms.
• After 30 days of feeding the supplement: White blood cells collected from heifers in the treatment group were more active in engulfing two important mastitis-causing bacteria, E. coli, and Staph. Aureus.
• At Day 3 of lactation:          
  Mastitis incidence for the supplemented group was 11%,
  Mastitis incidence for the untreated controls was 20%
• Three days Post-Freshening:
  Somatic cell count (SCC) was 221,000 cells/mL for treated group
  Somatic cell count (SCC) was 535,000 cells/mL for control group
• Milk production at freshening:
  Not significantly different between the two groups,
  Production advantage for supplemented heifers as lactation progressed.
• By five weeks in milk: Treated group produced 7.0 pounds per day more than untreated controls.

(For further information check these sources: Journal of Animal Science Vol. 90, Suppl. Three/ and Journal of Dairy Science. Vol. 95, Suppl. 2, Abstract 220)

Research Conclusions:

Researchers concluded that `dietary supplementation with immune-supporting additives shows promise in preventing mastitis infections and promoting udder health and milk production. With more research and product development, immune-supporting additives may become a standard recommendation in dairy nutrition.

Nickerson says, “If we can reduce new mastitis infections, and successfully equip the cow to use her own defenses to manage those that do occur, it’s a victory for animal welfare, drug residue risk, milk quality, production and profitability and consumer confidence.” 

The Bullvine Bottom Line

We may be without the fairy tale ending, but we are moving the quest to eradicate mastitis a little closer to reality. 

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The President of the United States benchmarked 100 days on Saturday, April 29^th. Throughout the weekend, there was a flurry of analysis, assessment, and judgemental summations.  The hope is to clarify what the future holds and if it will be productive.

Although we can easily get wrapped up in the drama of a new presidency, it is important that our dairy livelihood takes a serious opportunity with each calf to set the stage for a lifetime of production. While a President may recover from setbacks or early missteps taken in his administration, the future health and productivity of your dairy cows depends on what happens to your calves during those first three months. There are no referendums, replays or recalls in calf rearing.

It’s Okay to be Unique.  But Protocols Must Be in Place.

Every successful dairy sets up protocols.  To have every opportunity for success, you must have a standard to compare to. The ideal is that calf protocols are not only posted but that there are regular training and review sessions for all those involved in this role. We have all heard those directions many times. The difference between success and slipping into failure is that successful dairies have a “NO Tolerance” for less than perfect compliance.

Don’t Let a Difficult Calving Dictate the Whole 100 Days and the Future!

Every dairy operation has had to deal with an unusually difficult calving. Sometimes unforeseen environmental challenges before, during and after calving have an impact. The calving itself may result in malformations. Any or all of these can all negatively affect the vigor and progress during the first few days of the calf’s life. Proper observation and care protocols must be in place in order to survive the uphill battle of getting the calf off to the best start.  This is no place for a survival of the fittest attitude.  Use every intervention available to overcome these initial hurdles. For just two examples, every calf handler should be aware that calves are often prone to diarrhea and navel infection during this period.  The calf should receive every possible attention to treat these challenges during first days of life.

Don’t Accept Less than Perfect

If you’re willing to accept less tan the best, in the beginning, be prepared to end with less profit too!  For example, where calf protocol says, “move to a clean and comfortably bedded hutch” …. a hutch that has not been completely cleaned … with bleach … after the last occupant is NOT the place where a newborn calf should be placed.  In the first twelve hours of life, a new calf needs two bottles of high-quality colostrum (the sooner, the better), proper vaccinations and placement in a clean, comfortably bedded hutch with access to fresh feed and water.  Providing one or two of these, will not get your calves off to a start that will positively impact the future of your dairy herd.

No Tolerance for “the Easier way.”

In the first days of calf rearing, familiarity can gradually backslide into slipshod attention to detail.  Providing fresh water, calf starter and one bottle of milk twice daily is an absolute that cannot be done to the highest level of timing and cleanliness.  It is crucial that careful inspections of the eyes, nose, ears and manure are done every morning.  Skipping any of these steps is not optional. It is dangerous to think that a routine overview will catch problems.  Without the certainty that the procedures and inspections can be 100% relied upon, there is no way to make an informed decision, if a problem does arise.  The easier way may seem to help staff but, eventually, there will be longer hours dealing with more difficult problems.

Time, Space and Repetition

I am not going to print a list of calf rearing protocols.  I am not raising calves. I am (maybe) raising awareness.  My excuses of time, different goals, and space are the ones that are holding me back. What holds you back from having a fully operational calf rearing protocol that is posted in your barn and adhered to every day? Excuses don’t fill milk buckets.  Poor calf rearing protocols can actually empty them!  

You Must Put it in Writing

As each step of the plan is noted, posted and carried out the beginning of each stage is the most crucial.  With every change in routine, the observation of calf responses is key to ensuring that the transition is smooth and healthy.  Once again steps ensuring cleanliness of hutches must be scrupulously adhered to.

What Impact do Proper Calf Protocols Produce in the First 100 days and Beyond?

• Increased growth in calves. Growth rates during the first 60 days of life determine the future production potential of a dairy cow. A slow growth during these first 60 days of life cannot be compensated by speeding up the growth later in life.
• Healthy calves equal Healthy cows: Well-grown dairy cows produce high quantities of high-quality milk. It’s too late to question calf rearing protocols when the cows are in the dairy line, and you see less than expected
• Early Treatment and Prevention are the goals: Worse than poor production is having to face health issues. A serious episode of, for example, scours may kill the calf, but even if it survives, the chances it will meet expectations with regard to future milk production are slim.

Where Would You Start, If You Were Going to Do It Wrong?

The 24/7 nature of dairying sometimes puts you in a position where repetition makes it hard to see what it is that is preventing success. We can all analyze political gaffes and missteps because our spectator viewpoint gives us a different perspective.  Try distancing yourself from your own calf-rearing operation.  What would a reporter, interviewer or competitive peer point out as being “wrong” if they inspected your calf operation?

Are any of these “Don’t Do’s” present in your calf operation?

Temperature Stress: Too cold or too Hot.

Wet:    Wet calves. Wet bedding

Poor hygiene: Fecal or other contamination of milk, feed or water

Non-existent or poor air flow: Are calves exposed to draftiness or poor ventilation.

Lack of attention to detail: No posted protocols.  No recorded observations.  

Exposure to germs and bacteria: irregular or haphazard cleaning. Exposure to other sick animals or by feeding or handling of young calves after older animals

Mishandling of unhealthy calves: Not isolating calves that show any sign of disease.

Are You Making Your Young Calves Sick?

Even with the best intentions, you could be setting yourself up for failure by the way you carry out your calf care.

Here are five things you don’t want to make part of your calf raising routine.

1. Feeding older calves before feeding and handling the youngest calves. This could spread infections from the one group to the other.
2. Feeding unpasteurized milk and waste milk containing antibiotics
3. Allowing calves to drink milk in an incorrect position. Calves drink best by sucking from a bottle where the milk is placed higher than the teat so the calf sucks more naturally.
4. Rapid changes of milk type and concentration of milk replacer
5. Using milk replacer not adapted for young calves

These two steps could make a tremendous difference in your calf-rearing success.

1. Check calf health at least twice daily and re- cord, inform and act immediately on issues
2. House sick or weak calves separately until they have recovered and are vigorous

A Calf’s First Weeks Shape the Cow’s Future

The first 100 days is where even the most seasoned dairy managers -and Presidents – make a lot of critical missteps. It’s too easy to manage by getting the job done rather than by managing the results. When you catch the signals as early as possible, there is a chance to make corrections so that the future isn’t compromised.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

Make sure that your first 100 dairy days don’t close opportunities. Whether you’re presidential or not, it is much more than simply fulfilling promises. It is all about fulfilling potential.

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There are many half-truths out there about what makes some dairies significantly more successful than others. They range from “they’re lucky” to “they have a lot of money behind them. In our family, we have an old saying we haul out whenever we hear people using these truths.  We say, “Don’t believe everything you hear and only half of what you see.”  What this means is that, there are many ways to be successful and judging others on surface appearances or hearsay isn’t going to provide any insight into ways to move your own dairy forward. In our opinion, action is the ONLY way to forge ahead.  In the same way that exercise builds heart muscle, action builds the dairy success muscle.  Here are three take-action exercises that successful dairies actually use.

1. They Pull out MORE Data
2. They Pull for MORE Longevity
3. They Pull for MORE Profitability

At first glance, those three directives may seem too vague to be of help.  But short and sweet is always easier to remember. If you want longer lists, you might be interested to find out that there are almost 100 measurable variables that contribute to the bottom line on operations.  Or, you could learn from the extensive experience of others. Our source for saying this is an eleven-year study conducted by Zoetis and AgStar of herds ranging from 500 to 4,715 cows, to look at 90 variables in the management and financial records of 90 Midwest herds starting in 2006. The herds are based in Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and South Dakota.

Focus for Success

If you find that you are doing the six main things that separate top herds from their peers, then you will be a believer in the statement that,” Just six factors account for 85% of variation in farm profitability, says Mike Lormore, Director of Cattle Technical Services for Zoetis. “Herds which perform well in these factors are being propelled forward by healthier cows, higher profits and likely greater staying power in the industry.”

Everyone connected to the dairy industry has a vested interest in finding ways for dairy operations to make money.  Consultants, veterinarians, banks and consumers all lose when margins are too narrow to support everyone who draws on dairy success.

Walking into the barn every day with 90 variables on your mind isn’t likely to make your job easier, your herd healthier or your bottom line more profitable.  However, it is somewhat easier to use the idea of looking at the data (pulling out the stats) reducing the problems (pulling out the stops) and always improving (pulling ahead).

You have waited patiently long enough. Here are the six factors that the Zoetis study identified as separating those who perform best.

1. Somatic Cell Counts
2. Energy Corrected Milk Per Cow
3. Death Losses
4. Net Herd Replacement Costs
5. Pregnancy Rates
6. Heifer Survival

So, let’s look at the six factors in terms of our three simplified areas:

NUMBER 1: SUCCESSFUL DAIRIES PULL OUT MORE DATA

Progressive, successful dairy operators know that they are only as good as the data they use for decision making.  For some that may mean the cow-sense they were born with.  That is not a problem, if it’s working.  But how many times, have they called in a consultant or supplier to help them do some problem-solving.  If you’re unwilling to change your approach when results start to slide, you’re not recognizing that the dairy industry is continuing to become more complex in response to the huge number of issues that impact it.  So, keep an open mind and start with data on somatic cell counts and pregnancy rates.

Data on Somatic Cell Counts

You can’t help but love it as strategic dairy managers, when data and research come up with significant findings. In the case of this study, somatic cell scores showed that “for every 100,000 increase in bulk tank somatic cell count, milk yield declines 5.2 lb. per cow per day.” This is 3.9 lb. more than the results of the 1980s work done by George Shook at the University of Wisconsin.

In the 30 years between the two studies, milk production per cow has nearly doubled.  Furthermore, today it is recognized that SCC impacts several other areas, including health, reproduction and culling.  Lorimore makes another important point, “The death rate is much higher in high cell count herds and you get more lifetime milk production with lower cell counts because your cows live longer.”

Data on Pregnancy rates

Limited data in this area affects conclusions, however, preliminary results show higher pregnancy rates drive higher profits to the tune of about $50 dollars per cow per year.

Higher pregnancy rates equate to cows spending less time at lower production at the end of the lactation.  It means less time in the dry pen and older cows producing at a higher level.  This translates into owners being more willing to spend more money on higher merit semen which impacts the success of future generations.

NUMBER 2: SUCCESSFUL DAIRIES PULL FOR MORE LONGEVITY

The road to success doesn’t need more “STOP” signs.   As grim as it is, death is definitely a stopping point on the road to dairy success.  Heifer survival, herd replacement costs and death for any reason, are “Stops” that pull down the lifetime longevity of your dairy herd.

Successful Dairies Constantly Strive (and succeed) at Reducing Death Losses

This is another area where you want your numbers to be low.  Your animal health and husbandry skills will decide whether you are in the top one-third of herds or the lowest.

Successful Herds Go Beyond Good Calf Raising to Excellent Heifer Survival

Only 2% points separated the herds in the study, when it came to doing a good job of raising heifers. The highest profit group managed to achieve a score averaging 95%. Low profit herds had an average heifer survival rate of 93%.  Certainly, heifer survival is good but keeping them past their first and second lactation is even more desirable. “By culling cows early, farms are giving up tremendous volumes of milk each and every day.” says Mike Lormore.  Herds with high culling rates often have a higher proportion of first and second lactation animals. Lorimore points out, “These younger cows don’t produce nearly as much milk as mature animals. A second lactation cow will produce 15% more milk than a first lactation heifer, and third lactation cow will produce 10% more milk than a second lactation animal.”

Successful Herds Know Their Net Herd Replacement Cost

Finding effective ways to interpret data means we can find effective ways to take action. In the Zoetis-Ag Star study a formula is used to determine Net Herd Replacement Cost.  NHRC is defined in the study as number of cows removed from the herd times their replacement value minus the salvage value of culled cows (including dead cows) divided by the amount of milk shipped during this time period. As NHRC increases, profits decrease.

As already noted by Mike Lormore, “You’re making a ton more money if you have more aged cows in your herd,” He urges dairy managers to change. “As an industry, we need to move from an average age of 2 ½ lactations in herds to 3 ½ lactations to get to more optimal profitability levels.” It is tempting to get into a debate on this point, especially if cull cow prices are high. Some would reason that it doesn’t cost anything to replace cows because high beef prices offset heifer raising costs. “That’s wrong,” says Lormore. “Every time you cull an aged cow, it costs you a lot of money and time to get her replacement to the same point of production.”

NUMBER 3: SUCCESSFUL HERDS PULL FOR HIGHER PROFITABILITY

As discussed throughout this article, actions taken are the drivers that put successful dairies out in front of the crowd.  Success needs to translate into profitability and here is what the study found, results that you can actually take to the bank.

Higher Profit from lower SCCs: 

Little things can make a big difference.  In the case of somatic cell scores, there were not big differences between top herds and the lowest herds and yet bulk tank SCCs were shown to be one of the greatest drivers of profitability. The top third profitability herds have bulk tank SCCs that average 196,000 cells/mL while the lowest one-third of profitability herds had SCCs that averaged 239,000 cells/mL. There is a difference of only 19 lbs. “But the high herds average 91 lb/cow/day of energy corrected milk versus 72 lb/cow/day for the low herds.” Here is where the numbers prove the profitability point. “On an annual basis, it translates to $1.14/cwt in more profit, or for the average size herd in the study, $115,000 more net income.”

Higher profit from lower NHRC: 

Once again dollars are available. “The herds with the lowest NHRC were seeing $2.04/cwt more profit than herds with the highest NHRC, or some $60,000 more profit per year. The herds with lowest NHRC were also seeing 10 lb. more milk per cow.”

Higher profit from lower Death Losses

Everyone can acknowledge that death losses have a direct affect on profitability, but perhaps it is surprising at how much this is. The study reports, “The top one-third of herds with the lowest death losses were 86¢/cwt more profitable than the lowest one-third of herds. That translates to $70,000 per year more income.”

The Bullvine Bottom Line

Use your data.  Don’t settle for roadblocks.  Target continuous improvement. Success isn’t a matter of luck, inheritance or entitlement. You must be willing to take action.  Don’t fear change. Never settle for the status quo.  Do this and you too will take your place with your peers at the top of the dairy industry and that is definitely worth pulling for!!

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“NO ONE PLANS TO WASTE RESOURCES.”  A lot of planning and hard work goes into growing, purchasing, and formulating the best feed rations.  But then what do we do with it?  Are we throwing away all that hard work, before it has any opportunity to affect the health and production of our dairy herd?”

“It’s not what a few cows get fairly often, but what the whole herd gets consistently that shapes the success of a milking herd.”

#1 “You forget that the HOW can be as important as the WHAT.”

Simply placing feed in front of the cows and leaving the rest up to them, is a recipe for failure.

This is one of the most important places to use our knowledge of cows’ feeding behavior. We have lots of evidence to build on, using the particular conditions of our own herd.  Have you ever analyzed the difference in the feed from the first cattle to it until the last?

#2 “You’re okay with Survival of the Fittest!”

It could be that the first to the buffet have the pick of everything. The last ones have something quite different. The subordinate cows do not get the same feed. First cows mow down on what’s right in front of them. Like people, cows will eat the stuff they like first.  A knee-jerk solution might be to raise the energy of all rations.  But, once again, you could just be giving more to the boss cows.

#3 “You Don’t MAKE ROOM for ALL your Cows to Reach the Feed!”

Use observation to confirm that the second ones to the feed you are providing have a different selection to choose from.  You will probably be able to confirm that they are getting the sloppy leftovers. If animals are preventing other animals from getting to the best feed, you have to make some changes.  Or not. The goal is to provide enough bunk space to allow all animals to eat simultaneously. You might also decide to add a physical solution such as headlocks or a partition. These steps will limit the number of cows that can eat at one time, but they will also make it harder for one cow to push another one away from feed.

#4 You provide WAITING room, not EATING room!”

It may appear to be normal behavior for cows to be waiting to get to the feed bunk.  The only problem with this assessment of normal is that it is causing abnormal problems in other areas of the daily dairy cow routine.  While waiting, the cows lose resting time and, in turn, this will decrease milk production.

#5 “You WON’T sort the Cows! “

There are many reasons given for not sorting cows.  You can run through them in your head.  In reality, when cows are fed a TMR they have a natural tendency to sort through the feed.  They then toss it forward to where it is no longer in reach. This is the reason that shy cows have to reach and lick even to get “seconds.” This is particularly problematic when feed is delivered via a feed alley.

#6.  “You Let THE COWS SORT the Feed!”

When you are told about the benefits of grouping you prefer to follow a more familiar, but probably less effective, path. There are benefits to creating a first lactation group.  Older cows will not be able to push smaller ones away from the feed bunk. With specific grouping, the ration can be modified for the specific needs of these younger animals.

#7 “To save work, you accept the DOWNSIDE of Less Frequent PUSH UPS.”

When it comes to getting cows to make milk from the feed you put in front of them – it makes sense that the feed must actually get in front of them.  Frequent push ups stimulate cows to eat.  Adding more feed to push ups will attract cows that haven’t had enough feed intake for the day to get up and eat. When feeding dairy cows, it’s good to let push come to shove!

#8 “Your Cows are Lying Down, and Your Infections are Rising”

Okay, we are now behind the #8 ball.  Suffice it to say cows that are laying down are not merely contented especially if it occurs right after they’ve been milked.  Here is what research has proven. “Results suggest that management practices that discourage cows from lying down immediately after milking, such as providing fresh food frequently through the day (near the time of milking) may help decrease the risk of intramammary infection.  For robotic milked cows, which milk frequently throughout the day, ensuring continual access to feed in the bunk via frequent fresh feed delivery as well as feed push-up is important to promote standing time after milking and reduce the risk of intramammary infection (DeVries et al., 2011b).”

#9 “You Mistakenly believe that cows CAN make up for LOST TIME!”

It is important to understand that cows do not make up for lost time.  The idea that they will self-manage by coming back to the feed bunk is….bunk. What actually happens is that cows will eat 25 percent faster and eat larger meals. “This will lead to ruminal acidosis, which happens when the pH of the rumen drops drastically for an extended period of time.  Acidosis in dairy cows can result in lower milk yields, lower milk fat yield, and sole ulcers.”

#10 “Your cows need MORE WATER, and Your PROFITS are DRYING UP TOO! “

Another forgotten nutrient is water. Water is perhaps the most necessary nutrient (NRC, 2001), yet its quality and availability is often overlooked.  Interestingly, in a recent field study of free-stall herds in Eastern Ontario, Sova et al. (2013) found that that milk yield tended to increase by 0.77 kg/d for every 2 cm/cow increase in water trough space available in the study herds.

This result illustrates the importance of water availability for group housed cows and provides further evidence that resource availability has the potential to greatly impact productivity. (Read more: USING KNOWLEDGE OF DAIRY COW BEHAVIOUR TO IMPROVE NUTRITIONAL AND HOUSING MANAGEMENT)

#11 “Increased Frequency is too much for you to consider!”

No doubt you are aware that problems listed here for making better use of your feed dollars are repetitive.  We are aware of that, and we are striving to make the point — over and over again — that dairy cows need to be able to eat frequent, small meals when they want to.  Feed less feed more often.  (Read more: CALF FEEDING FREQUENCY: The more often, the merrier?)

#12 “Small Changes (see #’s 1-11) Make a BIG Difference! Do you care?”

We all would like someone to “Show me the money!” and “Show me the research” question too.  Because nothing will help if you aren’t willing to take action. Here’s some useful facts to start you planning your action strategy. The results are measurable. 

Bach et al. (2008) found in a cross-sectional study of 47 herds, fed the exact same ration, that 56% of the variation in observed milk production was explained by non-dietary factors (i.e. presence or absence of feed refusals, free stall stocking density, and whether feed was pushed up in the feed bunk).

Sova et al. (2013), found in a cross-sectional study of parlour-milked, free-stall herds that every 10 cm/cow increase in feed bunk space was associated with 0.06 percentage point increase in group average milk fat and a 13% decrease in group-average somatic cell count.  

Research suggests that feed push-up does not have the same stimulatory impact on feeding activity as does fresh feed delivery (DeVries et al.,2003); nonetheless, push up does play a vital role in ensuring that feed is accessible when cows want to eat.

IT’S TIME FOR A POSITIVE TURNAROUND

Managing a profitable dairy isn’t about what you DON’T do.  It’s time to turn those negatives into positives.

1. How you feed dairy cows is just as important as WHAT you feed them.
2. Provide equal opportunity feed access for ALL dairy cows.
3. Start by making room for ALL cows to reach the feed.
4. Provide at least the recommended bunks space of 24 inches.
5. Sort cows. Create a first lactation group.
6. Find an effective way to prevent feed sorting
7. Push feed up frequently.
8. Prevent excessive lying down time right after milking.  Cut down on infections.
9. Recognize that managing cow behavior also manages your profits.
10. Provide clean, easily accessible water.
11. Feeding frequency can positively affect milk production.
12. Have an action plan so that the small things can actually make a BIG difference.

THE BULLVINE BOTTOM LINE

There are many steps from field to feed bunk.  Each small decision along the way can affect the outcome in the milking line. Profitable dairies don’t squander dairy feed dollars. The future of the herd depends on achieving the best results from all your feed all the time.

“It’s not what a few cows get fairly often, but what the whole herd gets consistently that shapes the success of a milking herd.”

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Even in the best of times, small farms struggle to remain profitable. Dairy producers have come through years of pressure from all sides of the industry – economic, political and environmental – to name only a few.  Many, regardless of size, are having serious concerns about the future of their dairy farm.

Before we look at this question, we have to set some parameters. Let’s begin with a look at what defines a small farm. Are we talking the romanticized version of dairy farming which non-dairy perception mostly pegs at 30 milking cows or less? Or are we closer to today’s reality? In the USA small now means herds with fewer than 100 milking cows. In Canada, the cross Canada numbers might peg small at 50 milkers.  

The second major question is, “Do we want small farms to merely survive? Or do we want them to thrive? The global and North American dairy community has been through almost a decade of economic crisis.  If you’re small and still here, you have figured out how to survive?  But is survival a benefit to our families, our communities or the dairy industry?

Popular advice would say that smaller farms should cut back during adverse periods. Others would say, focus on highly specific market segments. Both options assume that small dairy producers are willing to be proactive and aggressive even as the economic returns continue to shrink. At this point, either option seems somewhat ludicrous. 

In the worst of times, when waning consumer demand combined with falling milk prices is hitting their bottom line right beside rising labor and feed costs, small farms face an even steeper climb. Admittedly, some small businesses, usually outside of agriculture, adapt to adversity by turning to new products, services or processes.  Small dairy farms in survival mode are in no position to take these initiatives.  Like deer in the headlights they are almost frozen in place not thinking of aggressive strategies.

Reports to the National Milk Producers Federation recently stated that, “Its far more lucrative to operate large-scale dairy farms with 500 cows or more.”

At the same time that small dairy farms struggle, their larger dairy counterparts who produce larger volumes can take advantage of their greater income to consider automation of their milking operations. This means they have more strategic options despite economic downturns.

Some analysts still say that small farms have the advantage.  While large farms are hampered by their size, small farms can change their plan or tactics much faster. While the larger operations are studying options, small farms can make a quick turnaround.  This looks good in theory, but in actual fact all dairy farms are dealing with live animals, financial constraints, and the immediacy of providing the cash flow necessary for the maintenance of the operation and the day-to-day needs of the people and livestock depending upon it.

Larger farms, and particularly growing ones, are more competitive, invest more, offer better wages and benefits and are more likely to contribute to export markets.  Put simply, growing farms, not small ones, drive economic growth. Governments should want more growth but policies are sending exactly the opposite signal: “Stay small.  Don’t grow.”

Small may be beautiful but not when it gets to the point of recklessness.  We cheer when headlines announce that government plans to give small farms and small business in general a break.  Surely, they deserve special help – in order to survive in a world that is more and more dominated by everything big: big business, big box stores, big, big, big.  Ironically there may be farms that are consciously choosing to remain small to remain eligible for government assistance.

Small may be beautiful, but not if it becomes a roadblock. It’s unfortunate when popular politics doesn’t actually represent what is good for the economy. Handouts and tax breaks may even cause harm by creating a perverse discouragement for growth.  It takes growing companies to drive economic growth. For small farms that means that political and financial policies are sending exactly the opposite message: “Stay small. Don’t grow.”

It’s time for governments and lenders to encourage strategies that encourage growth.

For example, in 2013 the Canadian Federal Finance department pointed out that small businesses, which would include smaller farms, “play an important role in the economy,” and tax breaks help them “retain more of their earnings for investment, expansion and job creation.”  However, there is no evidence to support these objectives and one is left to conclude that the voting block represented by 600,00 voters is more of a political incentive than an economic one.

Will Political Agendas Backfire?  Further along this line of considering how political agendas diverge from farm reality, are the issues of international trade and protectionism.  On the one hand watching government leadership proclaim support for agriculture by making protectionist moves against trade agreements and foreign goods being blocked from competition, seems to support both small and large dairy operations.  In reality, in the US, when such barriers come into play, it merely allows other international competitors to scoop up markets that, before US withdrawal, saw themselves as too small to compete in. While North America goes into “I don’t wanna play in your yard” mode, the rest of the world greedily anticipates cherry picking in their former markets.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

For small dairy farms, these continuing periods of financial turmoil and the competition from more and more large dairy farms, means that they face a unique set of challenges. Selecting a strategy for the future will directly impact whether small dairies thrive, survive or give up.

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Every dairy needs to build a great team.  Building a great dairy team has two parts: making sure you put the right people on it and quickly getting the wrong people out!

Hiring and training are the fun parts of team building. (Read more: Great Dairy Employees Need Great Starts). Getting off to a great start is a necessity, but dairy managers sometimes overlook or downright ignore signs of trouble on their dairy staff (Read more: If You’re Staff is Negative Your Dairy Will Positively Suffer). That’s a problem because, while firing might be uncomfortable, it’s even more important than hiring and it needs to happen at all levels. (Read more: Fire Yourself! 8 Signs that your time has come.)

There are Always More Than Two Sides to Every Firing Story!

Even when you’re talking to your BFF and he’s telling you about a friend who was “let go (from an ag company) for no reason” or, even when you’re listening to a relative who heard from a friend of a friend that “they have unreal job expectations at that dairy operation and then they fire anybody who falls short”. Even then, there’s always another side to the story.

• From The Employee Side: From the employee side, reasons for leaving a job might have to do with low morale, excessive work or low pay. These are problems which can be solved by open communication between both sides.  However, if an employee is unable to do the job or chooses to do it incorrectly, then it may be time for termination of employment.  It sometimes appears that an employee is, “Asking to be fired!”
• From the Management Side: From management’s viewpoint, under-performing employees are toxic to your dairy team. Not only do they undermine productivity but, by not doing the job they are supposed to do, it means that others have to work twice as hard to pick up the slack. On top of all this, when the others see that underperforming is acceptable, they lose their motivation. Allowing poor performers to avoid responsibility, only serves to alienate and annoy your best people. Eventually, they will choose to leave, and all you will be left with are the people you shouldn’t have kept in the first place.

10 Telltale Signs That You’ve Reached the Firing Line

Sometimes you may have an employee who is finding that the dairy farm system is no longer a good fit. Times do come when a person’s season of contribution is over.  This can even happen to owners (See Fire Yourself! 8 Signs that your time has come) and it happens with employees.  We make things unpleasant if we do not recognize this time and make a healthy, respectful farewell.  It is important to recognize that there are definitely times when firing is the correct and only option.  Here are ten signs that it’s firing time.

1. Criminal Acts: It goes without saying that a criminal offence (such as stealing or mistreating humans or animal cruelty) is cause for immediate dismissal.
2. Job Apathy: Apathy takes many forms including neglect, indifference, and unresponsiveness. It prevents people from doing their own jobs and is quite contagious.
3. Disappearing Acts: When staff duck out beyond regularly scheduled breaks, it’s a sure sign they feel they’re above and beyond the job. That affects the morale of everyone.
4. Arguments: When someone frequently argues with you, other management, fellow employees, or clients, it’s definitely a sign that it’s time for that employee to go.
5. Declining Productivity: If the employee spends more time with their attention in places other than their work, it’s time to bring that employee in for a chat.
6. Secrets: Deal with huddled employees who scatter when you appear or deal with much more severe problems later.
7. Pot Stirring: This one of the most damaging behaviors you’ll find on the dairy. Locate the source, or you’ll never calm things down.
8. Unreasonable Demands: When an employee becomes dissatisfied with either the job or the work environment, they’ll start asking for things that aren’t realistic. They are practically begging for you to let them go. If you find this to be the case, oblige them!
9. Redundancy: Economics might lead you to the hard decision to reduce staff a bit and rely on a contracted hire, if and when the situation requires it. Technology may also be replacing certain jobs.
10. Internal affairs: Try to avoid this altogether by creating a strong policy concerning relationships in the workplace. If someone breaks that policy – they have to go.

Don’t  Be Too Slow!

In speaking with employees, it is important to always be honest and open.  It is your job to make sure the employee knows why you are not satisfied with their performance. You do not fire someone for no reason.  Write down the reasons and give the person an opportunity to improve or correct the situation. You might choose to place the employee on paid suspension for a specific amount of time.  This gives them time to look at the situation from a different perspective and perhaps reconsider how they can be part of the team. However, if the employee is not prepared to commit to improvement, terminate employment.

And yet…Don’t Rush to Judgment

Rushing to judgment with farm worker doesn’t help anyone.  It’s up to management to recognize that employees probably needed time to adjust to living and working in a new country or at jobs they hadn’t done before. Furthermore, they may be dealing with the challenges of speaking and learning a new language, which can make it harder to understand what is expected. The dairy operation may be unlike anything they ever knew before.  What experience, if any, did they have with working with animals?  Milking cows? Feeding calves? When you add in making hay and silage, building and mending fences, sowing grass and crops, fixing mechanical equipment, safely and skilfully handling powerful machines, helping cows give birth and much, much more, you may have a little more empathy for the employee that finds it overwhelming.  It requires a lot of hard work, skills, intelligence, and common sense.

Delivering the News to Other Staff

Whenever someone leaves the dairy farm, they remain a part of the system to the extent that their contribution in the past is still having an effect.  One of the unfortunate things we do is to lose sight of what people have contributed.  Although it’s much more enjoyable to celebrate a good work record, this can also happen when someone leaves in a negative way.  Sweeping effects under the rug or otherwise overlooking the impact of a negative dismissal will cause ongoing problems. Misunderstandings or lack of information are to be avoided, while still maintaining a dignified respect for private information. Respect all parties.

You Can Only Move Forward with A Good “End” in Sight

Hiring is only half of building a great team. You also need to have an effective system for getting the wrong people out. You can’t have one without the other. Not knowing how to end the working relationship, has a severe impact on setting goals for all employees

1. All staff members need to know what is expected and how and when they will be monitored for achievement and what failure to achieve means.
2. Employees should know whom they answer to and that communication lines are always open. A culture of feedback can prevent problems from getting to a place where there are no options but parting of the way. There should be a trail of paperwork to prove it.
3. Having said that, when the time has come to an end the working relationship, be firm in your decision making. Never deliver the news of the firing, as if you don’t stand behind it.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

It is financially important to have hard working, reliable employees working in a low-stress environment. When the bad outweighs the good and when the employee is causing problems not solving them, continuing to employ that person sends the wrong message to the rest of the team. When it’s time to go, it’s time to go.

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We talk about the way family farm founders, dairy managers, consultants and suppliers need to be passionate, committed and courageous in leading their dairy businesses. We enjoy giving glowing praise to those who have inspired us to take exceptional action or to dig deeper to solve a problem or gave us the guts to make uncomfortable changes. We include ourselves in that group of aging role models. But what happens when there is an ever-widening gap developing between the measurable achievements? Indeed, what happens when those who lead the pack are not ready or willing to hand over the baton.

These Days Are We Still Proud or Are We Just Loud?

When we start something, and grow it into a successful enterprise, we are justifiably proud of the distance we have come.  We know how much hard work, inspiration and vision went into getting the operation off the ground. We are proud of growing and maintaining the legacy of those before us.  But sometimes we get so hung up on simply hanging on that we are a detriment to continued growth. Loud whining is very different from proud leading.

Sometimes Taking the Most Important Step Means Stepping Away

There are definitely times when you look back and congratulate yourself on taking center stage.  Tough or easy, you had the target painted on your back, and you accepted responsibility.  Being in the driver’s seat of a dairy business means traveling down a long and winding road. We sometimes need to be reminded that, on any journey, it’s important to pay attention to the stop signs! Here’re eight stop signs that you may be missing or ignoring.

#1: “No one could do what I do as well as I do it!”

If you just shouted “Right on!”, then please step away from your computer! It’s wonderful to have a great track record but what does the record show recently, when it comes to moving ahead with new technology, new management methods, new breeding strategies and a new nutrition program?  The belief that the status quo is the way to go just means that YOU need to go. And furthermore-  If you use the phrase: “By the time I show someone how to do it, I could just do it myself” Step aside. If your team really can’t do the work as well as you can, whose fault is that? Did you fail to train them? Or train them to fail?  Fire yourself!

#2: You resent young upstarts who haven’t struggled like you did and yet seem to feel that they are entitled to be your equal.

This is a big one.  If you hold resentment toward people (family, staff, partners or consultants) who haven’t been through what you have and who, heaven forbid, rely on book learning instead of years of experience, this could be a sign that you have passed your own best-before date. The measure of success isn’t the path taken or the length and bumpiness of the road.  Success is measured in results.  Are you interested in results or longevity?  Progress or control?  What are you afraid of.  If you answer is “I am afraid of retirement!”  Fire yourself!

PS If the only ones you resent are “those girls” or “the women” who aspire to work in your exclusively male domain.  Fire yourself!  Do it now!

#3: You’re worried about the financial Implications.

Are you waiting for the economy to improve, before you’ll give up control? You have come through challenges. Have a little faith that others can do the same. You may not be ready to let others make financial decisions, but are your decisions making or breaking the bank?  Do you find yourself cutting corners to save money, doing the best you can on your own in order to avoid paying someone else for services? Are you cutting costs on feed or supplies even though it may affect your herd health and production and therefore reduce your actual profits? Cutbacks can be costly.  At the other extreme, when seeing ourselves in the role of “top” boss, we give ourselves permission to break some rules by giving bigger discounts for our products or services to our “special” customers?  Do you find your customers or suppliers always asking for a deal? Are you demonstrating your power or are you eating away at your margins?  You need to recognize that your control may be inefficient, wasteful, and inducing costs that work against the very profitability you are hoping for. If you don’t fire yourself at this point, you will eventually be out of work.  Fire yourself!

#4: You think long hours are a measure of success.

Dairying is 24/7, but burnout is not a benchmark for success. Past a certain point, working more hours rarely makes you more productive. A study showed that, if you’re regularly working past 50 hours a week, your productivity is likely going to drop. That same study from Stanford also reported that people who work as much as 70 hours (or more) per week actually get the same amount done as people who work 55 hours. “But” you object, “they’re probably not farmers!”  You’re right.  That is why pacing yourself and delegating and strategically planning workloads is something that successful dairy farmers become very good at. There is no point in becoming an ornery, grumpy curmudgeon just because your martyr complex won’t let anyone else share the load. If you feel like you’re carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders – fire yourself.

#5: You expect praise for your efforts but don’t hand much of it out.

Do you insist on doing your job and other people’s jobs too? We all have strengths and when you have capable family or staff, let them lead with theirs. Strong leaders recognize where others add value, and make space for true collaboration. Don’t try to do it all. Especially when someone else might do it better. Do you find yourself detouring around family or staff in any meeting with suppliers, customers, or strategic partners?  If you are the only star, what does that make your staff.  Do you feel frustrated with staff who are not proactive, who only do what they’re told, who depend on you for decisions and seem unable to think strategically? Do customers always ask to speak to you instead of your staff? If you’re the reason, fire yourself!

#6: Everything has to go through you.

If your team can’t make a decision, or work is held up because you’ve not yet reviewed or approved it, it’s time to question how enabling you really are. You may not even be conscious of the tone you set, but sometimes a team’s hesitancy to make a call stems from your bad habit of reversing decisions. It’s either that or they’re unclear about what you want. Do people know what you expect? It’s great to be a champion, a guide, and even a director when needed. But don’t be a bottleneck. Learn to be clear on your expectations. Learn to take a backseat in decision making.  If you’re hired as “Manager,” you may not be prepared to or able to fire yourself. But you should always have the best interests of the dairy business at heart. Learn to appreciate the new technology and ideas that the younger generation may bring. If you own the operation, learn to change your title from “Farm Manager” to “Farm Owner.”     For those of you who are at this stage, Congratulations!!  You’ve built your dairy business.  Now it’s time to enjoy seeing it evolve further.  I hope you can let go quickly enough to take advantage of it. Fire yourself!

#7: You don’t trust your team to represent your work.

Clarifying roles and responsibilities is helpful. Once you’ve done this, it’s important to stay in your lane. If a project is heading into a ditch, by all means, step in. Otherwise, clarify your goals and expectations, then trust people to get the job done. Don’t insert yourself just because you can, or because you feel the need to appear in control. Leading from the sidelines has its place. If we want to enable meaningful contributions from everyone and maximize the talent available, it’s important that you either find your correct place…and learn to occupy it gracefully … or fire yourself!

#8: You are not ready or willing to change roles.

When you first started out in farming, you handled everything: chores, milking, breeding; finances; planting and harvesting; buying and selling; builder; plumber and all round handyman.

Over time and with the changing nature of modern dairying, you were probably required to focus on other things, and you coped with that.  Now changes include team building, training, and management, to name a few things that need to be on the priority list. When we as owners or managers refuse to relinquish control, we negatively affect growth. Call it fear or call it pride; that hesitation causes harm.  We have now become stumbling blocks.  Don’t get me wrong!  Many of us have used our strengths and still have some to offer. But if we are not very good at running today’s operations under changed circumstances we have to admit it. Change happens whether we are ready or not.  For many of you, your operation still needs you… For some of you, your business can do without you.  Either accept your new role or fire yourself!

8 STOP SIGNS PLUS ONE!!

So, there you have it.  If you read through this list of stops signs and recognized yourself —- check, check, check, check, check —then it’s time for you to check out. Fire yourself!! 

THE BULLVINE BOTTOM LINE

Don’t make your biggest regret that you waited too long to fire yourself. If you have the best interest of your dairy operation at heart, then you will be wise enough to know when the time has come to be the “wind beneath the wings” of the next generation.  Are you ready to give your dairy an advantage?

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On a dairy farm, delivering a calf is a normal, healthy process.  But, if the health of the cow and calf are to be assured, all that normality cannot be left to nature.  Poor preparation, unsanitary conditions, and unidentified problems can result in weak or dead calves or injured and sick cows. Calvings are one of those dairy journeys where the road to hell can be paved with good intentions.  All the good intentions in the world won’t make up for poor training, inadequate observation or badly executed assistance.

KNOWLEDGEABLE TEAM:  Must recognize risks and potential problems

How your employees deal with cows and heifers that are in labor is one of the most important things you must prepare them to handle well. There can be many problems that can arise during a delivery, but the first step is to avoid assisting when assistance is not actually needed. Cows will deliver without any assistance 70% of the time.  Even 50% of heifers will do that.  From that basic understanding, the team needs to be well versed in recognizing an abnormal or difficult delivery.  Patience and training can tip the process toward success and make sure that nothing staff does contribute to the injury or death of the animals involved. Knowing if the service sire is rated easy or difficult for calving ease is often another very useful piece of information. As well, it is increasingly helpful to know the dam’s sire’s rating for maternal calving ease.

PROPERLY TRAINED: Correctly Identify the Stages of Calving Training

There is heightened attention on farm, whenever a calving is about to happen. Rather than anticipating the worst, calving teams must learn how to work with the calving instead of against it. It starts with recognition of the signs of parturition.  But it doesn’t stop there.  Every stage in the calving process must be handled well in order to reduce negative outcomes ranging from stillbirths to inflammation of the uterus (metritis). Improper management of calving always has a negative impact on the health of your cows and calves.  Of course, there is a correspondingly negative impact on the financial success of the dairy as well. Accepting a 505 calf death loss or a 10% slow down in recovery should never be acceptable. As dairy farms become larger and new staff originate from non-bovine backgrounds, a trained team is a dairy operation necessity.

USE TECHNOLOGY: Observation and Monitoring are Indispensable

Even the best training program won’t be effective if the dairy staff doesn’t put what they know into action.  Not being attentive enough to catch the calving signals, whether they are early, on time or overdue, is a costly mistake.  This is one place where modern technology can be a very useful tool in the close-up pen.  Tools have been developed to monitor rumination and activity.  A cow commonly decreases feed intake before calving and monitoring rumination can signal calving. As well, a cow may show more up and down movement as she moves toward calving and then, no movement, as she starts into final labor. By using video monitoring, producers can be much more thorough in their calving preparation.  Multiple members of staff can view from different locations using cellphones or computers. The entire process is less intrusive on the cows and, provided the proper viewing angles are available; technology makes it easier to keep track of the stages of labor.

MANAGE EACH STAGE: Recognize.  Assess.  Act.

Be ready for the start of calving. Typically, cows go into labor on approximately the 280th day of gestation. Make sure your records are accurate and giving you the best information on which animals are ready to begin the process. 

STAGE ONE: Pre-calving Preparation

Stage one coincides with the calf moving into position, and the cervix begins to dilate. Observable signs are frequent changes from standing to lying down, raised tail head, vocalization, increased urination and defecation, full udder and mucus discharge. Typically stage one lasts for two to six hours.  If there has not been any progress in four hours, then the cow should be examined. 

STAGE TWO:  Calf is Born

In stage two labor, the cow or heifer is fully dilated, and the calf is born. Normal presentation is front feet first with the head between the knees and shoulders.  Any other presentation is a signal that assistance is needed. Stage two normally can last from 30 minutes to 2 hours.

STAGE THREE: Passing of the Afterbirth

In stage three labor, the placenta is expelled eight to 12 hours post-calving. If it takes more than 24 hours, it is considered a retained placenta and a veterinarian should be contacted. Years ago it was considered necessary to manually remove the attached membranes.  Modern best practices have shown that his can be detrimental to uterine health and could have a negative impact on future conception rates.

SIX CRUCIAL SKILLS YOUR CALVING TEAM MUST HAVE

At this point we have looked at what you see and what you know.  These are vital skills but the rubber really hits the road with what you “DO.”  When everything goes smoothly, there is nothing more beautiful than welcoming a healthy calf onto your dairy operation.  But, as we all know, there are many things that can go wrong and the skills needed to respond to those challenges are the ones that will determine the success or failure of your calvings.

SKILL 1: VAGINAL EXAMINATION 

Early in the labor process, a skilled person should examine the cow to determine if there is a need to correct an abnormal position or if assistance will be needed. There are exceptional practitioners who are skilled in distinguishing between front or rear legs. Employees can gain valuable experience in how to reposition a calf by learning from a veterinarian or skilled independent consultant.

SKILL 2: ASSISTING LABOR  

Knowing how and when to assist a cow is one of the most important SOPs (Standard Operating Protocol).

Assistance may be needed if:

• The cow is straining, but no part of the calf is showing after two hours.
• The feet and/or nose are showing, but the calf is not delivered after two hours.
• Rest periods between laboring are lasting more than 20 minutes.
• The cow or calf is showing signs of stress or fatigue.

SKILL 3: USE OF CHAINS OR STRAPS   

Assistance in these situations may require proper placement of chains or straps.  This should always be done in a manner that does not cause injury to the calf.

Important considerations are:

1. Calf jacks and manual extraction can easily exceed 600 pounds of force and break leg bones or vertebra or permanently injure the cow.
2. Sterile chains and straps are best, but they should at a minimum be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected between uses.
3. Farms that do not have proper equipment should contact a veterinarian for proper assistance.
4. Improvising, such as using twine, can result in injury to the calf. 

SKILL 4:  Know the Right Person to Call   

Contact your veterinarian if you cannot assess what is wrong during a delivery, you do not know how to correct something or if you have been assisting for more than 30 minutes and have not yet made any progress. If you find yourself in a situation that is beyond your capabilities, do not hesitate to seek help.  Make sure you and your team are prepared with contact information for a veterinarian or someone with more calving experience than you have.  A little research and taking the time to have them provide necessary training is well worth it. 

SKILL 5: Proper Moving of Cows   

Moving cows when they are in labor can have a major detrimental impact according to recent research. “When cows were moved during late stage one labor, they had 40 minutes longer stage two labor and spent 50 percent less time lying down,”  “This longer stage two labor was associated with increased inflammation post-calving, and in other studies, it has been associated with stillbirths and dystocia [difficulty calving].”

Moving cows early in stage one labor typically does not have an impact on calving time. Closely monitoring close-up pens is very important, as is moving cows calmly during active signs of labor.

SKILL 6: Proper Assistance to Prevent Metritis.  

Metritis is an inflammation of the uterus, caused by a bacterial infection, following calving. It most commonly occurs after difficult calvings, retained placenta, twins or stillbirths. Metritis can range from mild to severe and includes symptoms such as a fever, a foul uterine discharge, depressed attitude and decreased appetite.  Metritis can result in lower feed consumption, decreased milk production, increase days to conception and increased services per conception, leading to longer calving intervals and higher breeding costs. Fertility can be affected and result in a higher culling rate. Even mild cases can cost producers up to 350 dollars from these losses in milk production and cow health. 

The Bullvine Bottom Line

The process of delivering a calf is a natural one. That said, this is not the place to leave everything to nature.  Proper preparation, planning, and training is necessary for everyone on the calving team. At every stage, they must thoroughly monitor, assist, record and provide optimal care. The goal is to create a safe and healthy environment that supports the best health of the cow and the arrival of her healthy newborn calf. Know it.  See it.  Do it.

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With a daily routine of cows, off-farm jobs, errands and kids, most dairy connected families find themselves dreaming about smooth running morning routines.  While the dream may not include time for feet up R&R, it is entirely possible to prevent the onset of C&C – or as I know it — chaos and craziness. Bathroom lineups, lost library books, lost keys, and lost homework are just the “last straw” on school mornings. It’s especially upsetting if any or all of these come after breakfast bedlam and the fear-filled observation as you step out the door “you can NOT wear your barn boots to school!”

As parents of three and having the privilege of grand-parenting eight more, hubby and I have learned a few things about getting mornings with school kids off to a great start.  After all, whether they’re headed to school or if we are visiting during school days, no one wants to waste valuable time playing hide and seek with pairs of socks or racing the clock to find that permission slip that must be signed today!

THE KEY: “Don’t Wait Until Morning.”

Four keywords will turn your dairy/school mornings around: Don’t Wait Until Morning.  Those dairy farmers with the best-running operations know that, if they wait until the cows are ready to be milked before they get the feed ready or the milking equipment cleaned, there will be far too much wasted time. Unreported illness (staff or bovine), missing or malfunctioning equipment can also mess up a barn morning.  We all work hard to make sure that mornings are great in the barn.  We can do it with school mornings too.

FIND YOUR CENTER: “Hang it.  Post it. Pack it.”

I have always been somewhat of a morning person.  I say somewhat because there are some who think my mornings start in the middle of the night.  Nevertheless, those are my most productive hours.  I don’t want them to be watered down because I become wrapped up in un-planned crisis management.  These days the early morning chores are different, but I still enjoy time in the morning to see everyone off on the right foot and, hopefully, with matching shoes.

I am always searching for new ways to do things better. Pinterest is my addiction. However, my seeking has also been especially blessed with great role models.  My daughter-in-love is one of mine. Last year she implemented three centers that have resulted in huge time savings in a house with three school children under ten.  One is the command center in the family room the other. The second is the control center by the front door.  The third is the lunch box center, which is a cupboard dedicated to kid’s lunchboxes in the kitchen. These three organized areas are indispensable to a smooth-running school morning.

COMMAND CENTER

With all the school papers, notes and notices that come into our homes, it is hard to imagine having them corralled in one area that is also attractive and functional.  But such is the case for my Maple grandchildren and their parents.  With three drawers for each of the three kids and three for the adults to share, all of the incoming paper has a place to go.  The four hanging boards are magnetic, attractive and labeled with the name of the child. Chalk painted magazine boxes hold school notices, and the front lets everyone know when library books are due. Event notices, play dates, and doctor appointments are posted here and clearly visible from across the room.

CONTROL CENTER

At the front door, there are child-height hooks for coats and book bags, buckets for hats, mitts, scarves, and gloves. This amazingly useful area also has cubbies for shoes and a drainage tray for wet boots or Crocs.  There are two extra large baskets which are perfect for whatever is necessary for the current after school sports activities or teams. Sunscreen and hand sanitizers are also stored, where else, but at hand. Once we identify everything that is needed for a quick morning exit, we make sure that it is stored in this easily accessible area.  No adventures in hide-n-seek.  No sending someone back upstairs, downstairs or to who-knows-where-for-who-knows what.

THE LUNCH CENTER

This is probably the smallest of the three centers, but the lunch center is one of the most important.  This very accessible child height (under the counter) cupboard has some of the key components that make lunch packing quick and easy. This is where the kid’s lunchboxes, thermoses, water bottles, snacks, reusable food boxes and cutlery are kept. Not only, does this make it easy for them to be involved in making lunches, it also dramatically cuts down crisscrossing of the kitchen in search of needed supplies. When the dishwasher is being emptied, everything lunch related and non-perishable finds its way to this cupboard.

My dairy nutritionist daughter also encourages taking lunch preparation into the refrigerator zone.  Since her children are slightly older, they are developing a system of washing, chopping and preparing fruit, veggies and sandwich makings for a few days’ worth of lunches.  Ideally, this happens on grocery day or on Sunday evening. Small containers inside larger ones make it look inviting, organized and easy to select from when the girls make their lunches. It takes up very little space in the refrigerator and again condenses storage for fast access.

EVERY GOOD CENTER NEEDS TO HAVE A GOOD ROUTINE

It’s one thing to have things organized.  It’s even better if everyone, kids especially, knows how to make the system work.  In the same way that a good morning milking routine needs to be replicated at every other milking, a good school morning routine has to have a complimentary after-school routine.  With the centers we have been talking about, the kids come in from school … empty their backpacks (dishwasher, garbage, and lunch center), change their clothes, have a snack and play or have personal time for 20 to 30 minutes.  Homework is started and completed before supper.  School notes and homework for checking are placed on the shelf in the command center for Mom and Dad to check when they have time. While my grandchildren don’t live on farms, all three homes are dairy connected with parents working in marketing, semen sales or dairy nutrition. If they were on a farm, they might have chores to complete.  As it is, on many days there are after school activities.  Having an easily repeated routine working is as effective for kids in the house as it is for calves and cows.  The last thing every night is a quick tidy of the control center, moving everything needed to the command center, showers teeth brushing and one load of wash in the machine. This pretty much guarantees that everyone will make a clean exit in the morning.

• BONUS TIP #1: “Get Dressed”
  Having clothes organized is in the DNA of the female Hunt family and spouses. At our Huntsdale house, the next day’s clothes hang on hooks (five outfits at a time).  Our American grandkids (Michigan and Wisconsin) have been raised with organized closets and drawers.  Here in Ontario, the three kids under ten can find their school and play clothes easily because they are using a labeled drawer system. For them, a night time shower or bath means that just a few minutes are needed in the morning for hair-combing and teeth brushing.
• BONUS TIP #2: “Find Your Best ”
  Some dairy ladies and their helpers do as much school prep as they can in the afternoon before chores. Others choose night prep. Depending on chore time or dairy priorities, it could affect when the kids do homework … and where.  It’s amazing how much can be done in the barn office (feed alley or milkhouse). Been there.  Done that. The training lies in the commitment to doing the homework EVERY time. You wouldn’t put an untrained heifer into the milking routine.  Don’t expend an unprepared student to excel in the school system.
• BONUS TIP #3: “Need help? Use technology!”
  Technology loves to help us get organized. You can synchronize Google calendars to your phones. If you can name the time management problem, you can probably find an app to solve it.  When everyone involved in child care, pickups and deliveries are working from the same calendar; it is much more likely to run smoothly.  I have prepared a basic grocery list that is always available for whoever finds themselves near the store on any given day. Like any system, though, you must use it, not lose it!
• BONUS TIP #4: “Magical Mornings happen when the kids participate too!”
  Even the littlest helpers can keep the household running smoothly. Our Michigan girls have daily chores, and the Maple Loves are very good at putting their laundry away (in the aforementioned labeled dresser drawers) and picking up toys. Everybody is good at setting the table. Things are getting exciting as the older ones are starting to try their hand at meal preparation.

THE BULLVINE BOTTOM LINE

A new school year is always exciting and promises to have nearly as many memorable events on the calendar as a well-managed dairy farm.  Starting each day in a way that builds confidence and reduces anxiety is the goal. Everyone here at The Bullvine wishes you the best school year ever as you find your best way to earn your dairy morning Ph.D.: “Post it. Hang it. Do it!” Whether it’s school mornings or dairy mornings, success is all about being well-prepared!

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I will never forget the day that a former co-worker once told me that “farmers will never buy into laptops and personal computers!” That co-worker is now retired! I call myself re-fired! At that time, fifteen years ago, I was a crusader for saving time and money for our national company by making better use of available technology such as laptops, conference calls, and email instead of flying boards of directors everywhere, the laborious taking of minutes and monthly, instead of daily, updates. For me, as the Information Director, everything moved too slowly. Today we have access to devices and platforms that weren’t even imagined then. And, in my opinion, as far as time management goes, traditional methods are as outdated as the grandfather clock that chimes the hours at Huntsdale!

Goodbye offices. Hello, telecommuting!

Traditional time management teaches us to “start with a list of things you want to accomplish today!” In 2016, once you have checked Facebook and email, that list is already unrealistic and woefully behind.

Traditional time management also teaches us to “Set Priorities: 1, 2, 3, etc.” I can’t tell you the number of discussions we have about prioritizing. It seems that everything is “high priority” and “urgent.” I am genetically opposed to crisis management. Well-managed time is not driven by the current crisis. It prevents them!

Traditional time management teaches us to “close the door” to prevent being distracted. Closed door or not, our brains are spinning with incoming lures from the internet, cell phones, iPads, and pagers. On dairy farms and ag businesses, the concept of a schedule is already three hours behind before 8 o’clock in the morning.

Distraction From Work? OR Distraction By Work?

The problem is not that we are getting distracted away from the task at hand. The problem is that we are being distracted by other work continually presenting itself. How many times have you started to complete an important task on your daily priority list, only to be lured away by incoming emails, service providers driving in the lane or Mother Nature putting a special spin on the simple logistics of feeding, raising and moving cattle? Today’s dairy managers are so overwhelmed by incoming information; they spend much of their time “fielding” incoming issues. They end up operating without a big picture look at their total responsibilities. Work is coming at them from half a dozen sources. Interruptions seem non-stop. It feels like there is no time for anything let alone for managing time itself.

Techniques we Learned in the Past Are Failing Us

Look around your office. Are there too many sticky notes beginning to curl up at the corners? Are the paper lists landing in an ever-growing pile of printouts? Does it happen that flagged emails quickly fall below the scroll and get buried? When was the last time you had a day where you didn’t feel you were in a state of constant distraction and multi-tasking?

Are you Busy or are You Productive?

A study out of the University of Illinois (Disruption and Recover of Computing Tasks) concluded that ” More than a quarter of the time someone switches tasks, it’s two hours or more before they resume what they were doing.” (Source: Time Management Doesn’t Work) I don’t know of any statistical analysis of farm routines that compares the effect of multi-tasking, but common sense confirms that if you are always managing distractions, you are consistently reactive instead of proactive. This means that you could be missing the financial benefits of moving your business forward.

The truth is, we have to work differently now.

Effectiveness is the measure of time management success. Employees need to be trained to improve their productivity skills and overcome the challenges of modern day problems.

There are three critical components required in order to build effectiveness:

1. Manage role priorities rather than task priorities.
2. Manage attention rather than managing time.
3. Set up a comprehensive workflow management system for staff.

If employees use these three steps, they won’t spend their time being distracted by incoming issues. Priorities will arise only from those things that are priorities for their assigned role. They gain clarity and focus when they manage their attention.

Dairy Managers Must Align Roles and Goals

One of the hardest habits to overcome is “being busy”. There is a certain satisfaction in knowing that your day has been full. However, just as working late doesn’t mean you are working efficiently. A busy day does not mean that you have dealt effectively with your dairy priorities.

If you find yourself balking at taking the time to work out the goals of your dairy farm, then time management will never be a useful tool for you and your staff. Managers and employees need to be very clear on what is expected of each position on the farm. When employees know how to focus on their primary job roles, it is easier to filter out the irrelevant noise and take effective action. For example, when a vet/nutritionist/feed salesperson arrives unannounced at the farm, it should be clear how this interruption is to be handled and by whom. Hubby reminded me of a sign that was posted on a farm: “We shoot every third unannounced visitor and the second unannounced person just left!”

If these distractions and others are handled on a first come first served basis, there will never be enough time to raise the effectiveness in any area to the next level.

Little Things Make a Big Difference

For example, as a dairy manager, how often do you feel that you are spending too much time working at the dairy farm rather than working for the dairy farm.

A renewed focus on clearly defining the role of the dairy manager, calf manager or milking manager can reduce the temptation to spend too much time on email and other day-to-day minutiae or interruptions.

Do You Go with the Flow or Do You Control the Flow?

There are many unique situations that arise every day on dairy farms. These irregularities force changes in order to accommodate weather, planting season, harvesting … equipment challenges and animal sickness. And those are just a few. This is where communication is crucial. Everyone needs to be aware of how their role changes during seasons of added activity or high stress. The temptation is just to put your head down and do whatever it takes to get through everything. Too many of us have been raised to accept that if it means multitasking…so be it. If the days are long and strenuous…so be it. If everything doesn’t get done to the highest standard…so be it. At the end of the season – or a particular stress — the hope is that everything has turned out all right. The question I have each time relates to the fact that, although it’s unusual, the stress does return. Perhaps at some point, it becomes time to plan ahead. We want change, but we are not committed to changing anything. The planning — in 2016—needs to move beyond sticky notes left in the milkhouse … quick notations on a calendar or something you scribbled on the back of the seed delivery invoice.

Measured Success

The modern dairy form doesn’t survive by having the longest list of jobs that got done. Success turns on the interaction between feed production, animal care, nutrition and financial management. The old fashioned “Get a whole lot done!” must evolve into “Get it done right!”

The Bullvine Bottom Line

The true measure of time management is its effectiveness. It isn’t easy to be productive and efficient on dairy farms that are overloaded with information and fighting for survival alongside fast changing technology, genetics, and economic pressures. When the right work is done right by using the right resources, the results are intentional, measurable and financially and personally rewarding.

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No matter where it happens, negativity leads to a breakdown in morale. The strange part is that it isn’t always easy to spot the negative person on your staff.  They could even appear to be positive and supportive but, over time, the underlying negative message they are sending out can do a tremendous amount of damage to your dairy!

On a day to day basis, these negative folks don’t generally make big mistakes that set themselves up as targets.  In fact, they’re usually good at their jobs and, therefore, don’t attract attention.  However, like a contagious disease, their negativity attacks the work and achievements of others and ultimately affects the bottom line of the entire dairy operation.

How Does Negativity Get Started?

Here are six ways that negativity infects a workplace: (1) complaining, (2) exaggerating problems (3) gossip (4) rumors (5) innuendo and (6) criticism. As you looked at that list, you probably recognized each of the negatives.  It is embarrassing to acknowledge that we all, at one time or another, have been guilty of using one or more of these ways of communicating at work. It’s true. Nobody’s perfect.  But it is also a fact that work life and success improves enormously when you strive to eliminate using any of these to negatively affect fellow workers.

Complaints

The whole process of trying to improve obviously starts with the recognition that there are problems.  But there is a difference between trying to correct something and continually complaining about everything. Positive criticism turns on a willingness to be an active participant in finding the solution.  Negative staff merely voice a defeatist attitude and offer up unending complaints.

Exaggerations

There will always be a full range of good and bad perceptions regarding the effectiveness of the day to day happenings on a 24/7 dairy.  It is particularly damaging if problems are reported as threats that are so exaggerated that it spreads concern and hasty or perhaps counter-productive decision-making. For example, it’s one thing to deal with a health problem in calves or heifers.  It’s another to incite panic through emphatic misrepresentation of details on the numbers affected or the ability to turn the situation around. Negative staff love to point fingers at co-workers who are “always screwing up” or “never” in control of their responsibilities.

Gossip

By it’s very nature, gossip causes irreparable damage.  Although it is easily spread, the source of gossip is very difficult to pin down or verify.  The juicier the story, the more likely it may be accepted as true.  Once one employee is pitted against another, real damage can be the result of childish story-telling.

Rumors

Sometimes the worst problems have no actual basis in fact.  The rumor mill spits out a suggestion and, in no time, it becomes accepted as fact. Unfortunately, perception is reality, regardless of whether it is truth or lies.

Innuendo

Rarely does a negative staff member have the courage of his or her convictions.  They proudly and loudly recognize what is wrong, but they don’t go to the source in a spirit of making things better.  Instead they are masters of innuendo.   They prefer to stay well below the radar so as not to draw attention to themselves and, by doing so, the problems are rarely recognized and become even less likely to be dealt with in a timely manner.

Criticism

Teams rely on the respect given to bosses and supervisors, but a never-ending flow of criticism builds a momentum that eventually swamps even the best intentions. Many a good manager has had their authority and effectiveness undermined by negativity getting a grip on their staff.

Stop!  Look!  Listen! And Act!

1. It’s already too late if the first sign you have of an bad employee attitude manifests itself in major disruption of your dairy
2. Regularly check for employee actions and attitude that differ from the team as a whole so that you are aware if negativity is having an impact on your staff.
3. The first step is to identify the actions of the negative staff member and make it clear to him or her that continuing these actions will not be tolerated and to emphasize how it could improve morale and productivity if they were to be positive.

Establish A Positive Policy

It is one thing to criticize negative behavior.  It is much better is to establish a policy for benchmarking appropriate behavior. One example of a policy statement could be something like this:

“Each staff member will demonstrate professional behavior that supports the entire team (insert the name of your dairy) and contributes to performance and productivity.”

Having such a policy in place is the beginning of establishing a good framework. The next step is day-to-day coaching and training that keeps the message getting through to the front lines. It isn’t like a missed step in a machine or feeding protocol.  Negativity is not as obvious as that and, therefore, can be difficult to bring out into the open.

It’s human nature to want to delay having a tough conversation with an employee who has a bad attitude. But that only makes things worse.

And since it’s going to be a tough conversation, it’s recommended that supervisors prepare for the discussion. After all, your goal is to turn a confrontation about negativity into positive communication.  Here are some suggestions.

• Be specific. Don’t generalize. In the simplest terms, you would like to tell your employee. “You have a bad attitude.  It needs to change!” Even though that is accurate, it is also so general that it could have no effect. Instead, you need a specific example and recommendation. “Your criticism of your co-workers behind their backs is undermining the entire team. From now on, if you can’t offer support, please don’t say anything at all.”
• Gather Examples. While it is important to have specific examples to illustrate the behavior, it is also important not to dump an entire load on the staff person. You don’t use the problem to cure the problem. The goal is clarity, not an accusation.
• Expect to hear a defense. It is a sign of respect and positive intentions for the future to allow the negative staff person an opportunity to vent their side of the discussion. If the staffer were adept at accepting and handling criticism, they would probably not be the type to disperse negativity upon others. Furthermore, they could feel they are being judged, and they are, and it is human nature to want an opportunity to mount a defense.
• Steer the conversation toward results that are good for everybody. Avoid accusation and encourage acceptance of the idea that the identified problem is something that “we need to change.” There can’t be a positive outcome of any kind if the entire responsibility for the behavior is put on the employee.
• Don’t start a fight. It is all too easy to start off saying, “You have a bad attitude and everybody knows it.” Once those fighting words are out there, there is no turning back to a more constructive situation. Acknowledge your role in either continuing the negative behavior or in turning it into a win-win for everyone.
• Little Words Can Make a BIG Difference. When we are faced with delivering criticism, we often lead with praise.  For example, “You are doing a good job in the milking parlor” and then we lower the boom with, “but you’re attitude with co-workers is causing a problem.” Not only have you reduced the effect of the praise, but you have also linked it to something negative.  It would be surprising if the employee thought or said, “You can never just give a pat on the back.  You always have to be critical!”
• Substitute “And” for “But” and “However.” Before you water down your praise of an employee, consider a simple change. “You’re doing a pretty good job, and we need to talk about how to get you to show more respect for all of the dairy team.”
• Don’t feel you have to fill in the Blanks None of us likes to be on either side of a difficult As the manager, you need to be prepared when gaps develop in the conversation.  Trying to fill every lull will not resolve the problem.  Let your staff person consider and respond, as he or she is able. Sometimes remaining silent is the most effective way for proper consideration to be given to the problem.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

Although it takes a combination of teacher, counselor, and sheriff to manage negative people, there are some proven ways to deal with bad attitudes. Letting things work themselves out is NOT an option. Of that, you can be positive!!

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Recently The Bullvine initiated some give and take with readers after our article, “From Cow Bossy to Dairy Super Boss” where we discussed the role of managers on well-run dairy operations.  We considered whom to hire, what to pay, how to train and other important issues that arise between dairy bosses and their employees. The ten points that were discussed all have a legitimate impact on dairy success but today we are going to rewind the process a little bit to consider the first day and how it is one of the most important moments in dairy staff relations. If you are building an effective dairy team, it is crucial to get off to a good start.

Great Dairies Are Full of Great Beginnings

We can all appreciate the importance of great beginnings when it applies to genetics, planting seasons and milk records. When we get it right, the effects are visible and measurable all the way to the bank.  Dairy staff is one area where we may experience the effects of poor beginnings without realizing exactly what caused the problem. Unfortunately, there is a big difference between a relationship that gets off to a good start and one that gets off to a bad one.

Day One on the Dairy

Assuming all the due diligence has been done, and you have hired a new dairy employee, it is important to get off to the best start possible.  Regardless of whether there has been a previous relationship, it makes good sense for both sides to be as well-prepared as possible.  Never assume that the myriad of details is “obvious” or “standard.”  It is a sign of respect, to give your new staff member every opportunity to succeed.

Write it Down

While your plans, including starting days and dates, may be very familiar to you, it is always a good idea to write the details down for new employees.  With equipment, buildings and animals to get familiar with, it could be a simple detail such as when to arrive, where to park and what to wear, that gets overlooked or misunderstood by the new person. Confirm all points discussed either by email or in writing.  You won’t regret starting off by making sure everything is clearly understood.  On the other hand, misunderstandings can result in all your careful recruiting, interviewing and negotiating being wiped out by frustrations which could lead to a rocky or terminated start.

A Place for Everything and Everything in Its Place

Once again, you may think that everything on your operation is self-evident and easily understood, but an orientation tour not only gives new hires the chance to ask questions, it can also be an unpressured way to start building a good working relationship.  Now is the time to point out special safety considerations, medication storage or details regarding equipment operation.  If your operation is complicated in any of these areas, you can set your new staffer’s mind at ease by explaining plans for training as needed. Whether you have two employees or two hundred, don’t leave new employee orientation to chance.

A New Employee Checklist

Everyone has been a newbie at least once in their life, and so we can identify with the feelings of someone who is thrust into a new environment.  New dairy staff must be helped to settle in comfortably, otherwise they may fail to perform well.  Here are some basic considerations.

The Paper Work

1. A written description of the job and its responsibilities.
2. Contact information. A chart that shows how the new position relates to staff organization.
3. All of the necessary administration and benefits forms.
4. A handbook, if there is one, for any of the job responsibilities.

The People Parts

1. Provide an opportunity to meet coworkers, specifically those he or she will work closely with.
2. You could provide a “buddy” or mentor for the new hire so that they have someone they can go to for more information or help.
3. Set up opportunities for ongoing orientation and training. Who will provide it?  When? And Where?

Knowing The LITTLE Details Makes a BIG Difference

1. Where does staff park?
2. What should I wear?
3. To whom should I report?
4. What is the work schedule? Where is it posted?
5. Where are restrooms, telephones, and computers?
6. What should be said when answering the phone?
7. What food, snacks or beverages are provided? Should I bring my lunch?
8. Is the farm tobacco or smoke-free?
9. What is the policy regarding use of cell phones or personal computers?
10. What record keeping is required regarding animal treatment?
11. What record keeping is required regarding work hours?
12. What job supervision and review are scheduled?
13. What opportunity does the employee have to give feedback?

If you take care of these details, the likelihood of a smooth start for the new employee will be increased. Even though you probably won’t micromanage each day’s activities, it is important to make sure that the employee knows that you are available to answer concerns.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

We know that employee turnover is expensive and that it is important to retain valuable employees. Is your first-day strategy achieving the desired results? Is it decreasing turnover? The goal is that everyone joining your dairy staff overcomes their fears, fits into the workforce and becomes a productive employee. This is the foundation that successful dairies are built upon.

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High-quality, consistent milk replacer is not just a nice-to-have option it is a must-have priority! Some variables such as expression of genetics won’t be seen until further into the future but feeding high-quality milk replacer each and every day is the first step in guaranteeing a healthy start for each and every calf.

Consistency is the challenge. Every step in the process can be undone if consistency is not achieved.  Consistency of mixing the powdered product.  Consistency of the volume of water.  Consistent temperature.  Variation in any of these, can have a detrimental effect on the calf’s digestives system and, therefore, on its health and vigor.

How Hard Can It Be To Follow The Manufacturer’s Instructions?

Because of the simple needs of the newborn calf, we tend to think that meeting those needs with bottled milk replacer is simple too. Not so.  Each manufacturer produces a variety of formulations, and each formulation has specific instructions for mixing temperature, amount of powder and volume of water. It is up to the calf-caregiver to follow the unique mixing requirements that are necessary to achieve the best quality reconstituted product. Close is not good enough.  Creative variations are not okay.  Each step of the milk replacer preparation and delivery must be 100% accurate.

Let’s Start With Mixing Temperature

Milk replacer cannot be hot one time and cold the next. In order to produce the desired healthy results, the replacer must be prepared at the correct temperature.  Recommendations can vary from as low as 110° and as high as 150°. Too cold and the mix may be incomplete or have an uneven dispersion of particles.  Too hot and there will be uneven mixing of the fat. Also, at high temperatures, denaturing of whey protein could affect the digestibility of the product.

How Much Water?  How Much Powder?  Get it RIGHT.

We need to remember that milk replacer is not a treat that improves in flavor or increases in value if it is mixed to a thicker or thinner consistency.  There is that word consistency again.  Here it refers to setting up and feeding perfectly mixed nutrients at every feeding. Beyond whether you and your calf feeding team get it right, there may be errors in the instructions themselves.

Here is an example “For example, let’s say your feeding program is set up for the dry matter in milk replacer at 12.5 percent. That delivers about one-half a pound of powder in two quarts of milk replacer. [125 g/liter delivers 500 grams in two liters]. Some instructions correctly tell you to mix the powder with some water and after blending add enough more water to arrive at the desired volume. This works well – you end up with about 12.5 percent solids. The incorrect directions tell you to add the powder to the final volume of water. For example, add 8 ounces of powder to 2 quarts of water. Instead of ending up with two quarts of 12.5 percent solids you get more than two quarts of an 11.6 percent mix [116g powder per liter rather than 125g. “Poor mixing at the simplest level results in clogged nipples but it also contributes to clostridial bloat.

How Many are Fed Each Time?

When preparing milk replacer, the number of calves that will consume the mix has an effect too.  If it is only being fed to one calf, the difference in concentration doesn’t matter as much because the calf will drink the entire batch. However, as soon as the mixture is fed by volume to two our more, any inconsistencies will be magnified. If more than one person is mixing the replacer — and doing it incorrectly — the calves will suffer from the inconsistent feeding.

Get A Recipe!  Get It Right!

• Write it down.
  Working from a written recipe is straightforward and easy. Depending on your situation, prepare the basic recipe and note variations based on the number of calves the mix will be fed to. For so many calves, use so much powder and add water to “x” level. Well-organized prep areas use a dry erase board for recording information. Mark down after each feeding the number of calves fed and the mixing amounts for the next feeding.  Note the number of calves that need special attention because they didn’t drink well or were lethargic. Any symptoms should be noted. For further information, check this article on other issues to watch for (Read more: Good Looking Managers Raise Healthier Calves)
• Stop estimating! Start Calibrating!
  Use precision tools if you are committed to achieving precision results. There are four specific measuring methods that you need to incorporate into your mixing routine: scales, calibrated containers, a calibrated measuring stick and a thermometer.
  There is no better way to measure milk replacer powder than with a scale. Get a gram scale. It will be the best money (approx. $38) that you will ever spend. Using a scale is more accurate than estimating powder by volume which happens when using a cup or spoon.
  1. Hang pail on the scale.
  2. Scoop in powder.
  3. Stop when the needle hits the right place.
  4. Dump contents of pail into water.
• Customize your calibration:
  Each operation has specific containers that are used for calf feeding. Taking the time to mark accurate calibrations on each tank or pail, will significantly improve the accuracy of milk replacer delivery. It might be worthwhile to calibrate bottles, for accurate records of any replacer that isn’t consumed. Take the time to fill each one with water in graduated known quantities. Clearly, mark the container at each step.
• Make a calibrated measuring stick for mixing.
  Over time and with the daily repetition that is part of feeding milk replacer to calves, a large repository of suggestions, hints, tips and ideas is available from those who have refined their methods to what is most effective. Taking the time to research ideas and adapt them to your setup is another way to give your calves the best start.  Here are some steps for calibrating a measuring stick.
  1. Select a piece of white 5-inch PVC approximately 1 foot longer than the pail is tall
  2. Glue a cap on each end of the
  3. In preparation for marking, use a file to roughen the PVC surface slightly
  4. Use an ear-tag pen to make a permanent black line.
  5. Put the stick into the pail.
  6. Add water in graduated known steps, marking the pipe at each step (i.e. 2-gallon steps).
  7. Do this for each size of pail: 20-gallon; 5-gallon etc.
  8. Using the calibrated stick, you can further adjust your milking quantities as needed without resorting to guessing.
  9. Always wash the stick after each use.
• A Temperature Guess Could Result In A Mess
  A guess could result in a mess. Using experience or guesstimating temperatures is another way to mix up your calf milk replacer.  The Ideal situation would be having a temperature gauge on your mixer faucet.  Alternatively, if you use a garden hose or a milker hose for transferring water, try inserting a rapid-read thermometer into the hose. Starting with the right temperature is the beginning. Don’t resort to using your hands to determine temperature. Your perception is notoriously inaccurate, especially in cold weather. Guessing is almost guaranteed not to get you to the warmth that is recommended by your manufacturer.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

Calibrate don’t estimate. We have talked about many things that will make feeding calf replacer more effective.  It may not make your work go any easier or faster.  But that isn’t the goal with calf raising. The goal is to provide consistent, accurate feedings that will allow the calf to develop to its highest potential.

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There was a funny show which was known for the catch-phrase, “Smile! You’re on candid camera!” People were put in difficult or strange situations, and we were vicariously shocked, amazed or amused to see how they handled it.  It was weird to discover they were being watched.  Today we are watched all the time….and…it’s not so funny. Far from inspiring laughter, being watched by a hidden camera strikes fear into most of us.

The days of the candid camera show have lost the innocence of peeking into someone’s life without intent to cause anything more than momentary embarrassment and then the full revelation of the fun.  Today – surveillance regardless of who is doing it is much more serious in intent and consequences.  Next time you’re working with animals in the field or the milking parlor, look around and ask yourself, “Am I being watched? Or maybe just paranoid?”

Caught in the ACT or Above Reproach?

Setting out to go undercover on a dairy operation may have one of two outcomes: shame or fame. Shame if your operation is captured showing inhumane treatment of dairy cattle.  Credibility for whoever claims responsibility for exposing the bad behavior. There is only one thing you can do if you are the subject of an expose. You must stand up to full disclosure and extend an invitation to media and the general public to tour your facilities.  Nothing short of a full public relations campaign will minimize the damage.

Spy Gate Exposes Sneaky-Dirty
Farm Gate Exposes Squeaky-clean

There is a fine line between watching to see that everything is being done properly and watching to expose or threaten.  Somewhere in between is the sincere intention to use what is seen to make the dairy operation function better. With the instant ability to take and transmit pictures, anyone in the barn can find themselves on that spectrum.  As a dairy manager, it is up to you to clearly communicate the policies you have regarding cell phones.  You can prohibit them entirely, or you can communicate how they are to be used and assign trusted employees to help enforce the rules.

Sneak attacks can be financially costly and emotionally damaging due to the attack on the operation’s reputation.

It goes without saying that if you’re not doing anything wrong, then you won’t have to worry about exposure.  However, if that were entirely true, then there would be no reason to fear exploitation by an undercover animal rights activist. Establish the guidelines. Make sure they are posted.  Provide ongoing training.  Make sure you are aware of how well your planned steps are being followed.  It doesn’t eliminate the possibility of something going wrong, but, if it does, you are more likely to have been the victim of photos or video taken out of context. The tone you want to set on your dairy operation is one that ensures that staff comes to you first, whenever or wherever there are concerns about animal health and treatment.

Hiring Squad or Firing Squad?

Dairy operations vary in size.  Certainly, when very large operations who are hiring hundreds of people and turning them over relatively quickly, it is much harder to be sure that an anti-agriculture activist hasn’t infiltrated your dairy. Even smaller producers, could unknowingly hire an animal rights activist. Everything turns on what you are confident of and how well you know who is on your farm. Modern dairy managing must do everything to make sure they know each new hire.  It takes a lot less time to do the work before problems happen. That starts with searching references. Do it 100% of the time.  Then make sure you provide effect employee training. Do it 100% of the time. If there are infractions.  Fire the person responsible.  Accept responsibility for proper hiring. Take responsibility for necessary firing. Do the first one well and it will be less necessary to resort to the latter.

On Your Own or Backed by a Team?

What if the worst case scenario does happen and you are in the negative spotlight of public scrutiny? This is when you turn to your crisis team. It is not an admission of guilty practices to have such a team in place that includes a variety of professionals.  Call on your human resources person and have speedy access to your attorney and veterinarian as well. Set up protocol that includes a spokesperson with media training and someone prepared to handle social media and press inquiries. It makes sense to have a crisis response team in place to handle a variety of situations which could include not only undercover videos but also food safety issues and manure spills and other events that could impact animal and public safety.

Accusation or Preparation?

It takes a certain amount of time to develop a communications policy but, once it is in place, you won’t face the daunting task of responding under pressure to a crisis. It is all too easy to speak too hastily or emotionally when under the probing eye of the media. Make sure you have a plan in place for who will be handling media questions and who will be responding on social media. Brainstorm each type of issue and establish what is best for your operation and determine who will provide one official statement, rather than bits and pieces from several employees speaking, posting or updating.

Caretakers and Muckrakers

Both sides are looking for proof.  Make sure your records are detailed and up-to-date. When muckrakers are dragging your name through the mud, you have to have evidence on your side of good animal care. Here is a short list of written records you can keep:

1. Employee training
2. Animal welfare audits by licensed evaluators
3. Animal care licenses, certificates, and awards
4. Voluntary participation in livestock animal welfare programs

All of these demonstrate your commitment to good animal care practices.

Prospects vs. Suspects

In preparing for the worst case scenario, you should consider the possibility of legal action. Here again, you need to have resources that can determine if there are legal claims to be raised against an undercover videographer or the organization which he or she is affiliated with.

Claims may include fraud, perjury, trespass, broken contracts, and conspiracy. Understanding what is viable is something to be discussed with an attorney before deciding whether or not to pursue such legal claims.  

Don’t Close Down Instead Open UP

The public can’t be blamed if they are taken in by negative videos.  If that is all they are seeing, then that is all they have to make their decisions on. More and more operations, large and small, are taking the opportunity of inviting the general public and reports to the operation to have a look for themselves.  Doing this regularly is a proactive step in establishing credibility that can withstand activist attack.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

Although it is frustrating to feel that you must be on the defensive against activist attack, it is reassuring to know that by taking the steps we have discussed, you are taking positive action for the protection of your animals, your business, and public safety.

Smile!  It’s Okay!! Your Dairy is Camera READY!

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