Change is inevitable. Anyone who denies that will be left behind! And even though the dairy industry is stereotyped as one that is “behind” other industries, in reality the dairy business has evolved significantly in recent years. Technological advancements such as smart phones, tablets, GPS systems and robots have radically affected our day to day lives and, inevitably, how we farm. Nevertheless, there are still those among us who refuse to evolve. They hide their heads in the sand and are missing the revolution that is modernizing agribusiness.
Since starting the Bullvine we have had the opportunity to meet many people from all facets of dairy life. From producers, to seed stock breeders to industry members, the dairy industry is certainly where you find amazing examples of people who are passionate about this incredible industry that we are all part of. While there are many characteristics that unite us, change is the one area where I see the greatest differences between us. On the one hand, there are those who prefer a slower more evolutionary approach to change. They are happy to take calculated incremental steps towards change. And, on the other hand, there are those who prefer a more revolutionary approach. These are the ones who are ready to run with the latest technology and be at the front of the line. Change for them is always moving forward. Making adjustments. Getting better all the time.
Genomics is another area that defines our different approaches and highlights the variation that can separate even those who have the same ultimate goal. (Read more: Dairy Cattle Genomics) While some producers have embraced genomics to a point where the majority of the semen used on their farms is from genomic young sires, others have not been so fast on the uptake. They have decided to take a wait-and-see approach on genomics until more substantiated proof is available. While there are merits to both methods, the strongly held opinions and significantly different approaches can only be settled by the results produced. And … that takes time!!!
Speaking of strong opinions, many more of those opinions have been pushed to the forefront as a result of articles we have written here at the Bullvine. While regular readers certainly recognize that we have taken a much more revolutionary approach to genomics, we have also taken a much more revolutionary approach to how we run our magazine as a whole. We don’t do a print edition. We provide all our content free online and we let passion drive what we write about not who pays us the most money. This is certainly a revolutionary approach compared to most of the options available to dairy breeders.
There is no question that our content has been revolutionary as well. As the year winds down and we take a look about at some of the most popular articles of the past year (Read more: Top 13 of 2013 – The Bullvine’s Most Popular Articles of the Year) and some of the top editorial choices (Read more: EDITOR`S CHOICE 2013 – The Top 12 Picks from The Bullvine) there is no question that revolutionary is the best word to describe the overall flavor of the content we produce. In fact I can confidently say that if you took these 25 articles and compared them to all the other articles our competitors produced, there is no question that they would stand out for their unique content and unbiased perspective.
The Bullvine Bottom Line
Since starting the Bullvine we have always tried to take a revolutionary approach to change, as opposed to that of our competitors that are stuck in their evolutionary mindset. It’s with this aggressive approach to change that we have many new and exciting things planned for 2014. We will continue to drive change instead of simply trying to keep our heads above water. In the coming year we plan to bring our revolutionary perspective to all aspects of the dairy industry as we increase our coverage of the key issues that all producers face. We greatly appreciate everyone who joins us and cheers us on in the revolution. We look forward to sharing the insights, passions, frustrations and visions that will power the dairy industry throughout 2014.
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