We’ve all heard the phrase “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it” to emphasize the importance of using data and metrics for making decisions on our dairy operations. With new technologies and innovations, we have more tools than ever before to measure every aspect of our operation from finances to animal health, milk and crop production to feed quality and intake, and much more.

In fact, I’d say the dairy industry leads the way in many aspects of using measurement tools to make decisions. However, there is one area where we can learn from other industries: tracking our own learning and development.

Continuing education is a critical part of today’s dairy industry. We are always learning, always looking for opportunities to be more efficient, more sustainable and do a better job for our people and animals. As technologies and management practices evolve more quickly than ever before, learning those new tools and skills is even more vital to our success. But – unlike many other industries – we don’t do a good job of recording those trainings and accepting the literal credit for the work we invested into learning and improving.

Our customers – and I’m talking about processors and retailers in addition to consumers – are looking for dairy producers who are willing to invest in their continual education, just as they expect their accountants, doctors, hair stylists and other professionals to stay on top of their learning. All of those industries have an accreditation program, as do agronomists, veterinarians, lenders and many other agricultural professionals we work with.

I come from a family that strongly believes in the power of lifelong learning. From our perspective, it just makes sense to validate every learning experience with continuing education credits when that opportunity is available. The Dairy AdvanCE (DACE) program provides an easy-to-use tool that is free to dairy producers and students to find top-quality continuing education programs and to record attendance at events.

I see three primary benefits from participating in the DACE accreditation program: creating an official record of my completed trainings, securing the ability to share those records with key business partners, and having the opportunity to strengthen my entire team by affording them occasions to likewise plan and track their development.

In a world where expectations are higher than ever for dairy producers to perform professionally, having the ability to track and report the courses and programs in which we’ve participated is a huge advantage.

DACE provides an intuitive online management tool that simplifies finding, tracking and managing continuing education units (CEUs) on a mobile-friendly dashboard. All accredited trainings have been vetted through an application-based process, so I know if a program offers DACE CEUs, it will be a good investment of my time and resources.

The DACE tool also offers a reporting tool that creates an official transcript of all CEUs I’ve earned. This transcript can be a valuable resource to share in a variety of situations: with lenders to demonstrate the financial management programs I’ve completed, with conservation and regulatory groups to demonstrate our dairy’s commitment to sustainability, with insurance providers to show our commitment to safety and employee training, and with other members of my farm leadership team to look for the next level of training and development to fill gaps in our operation.

From a manager standpoint, I appreciate that every member of my dairy team can create a free subscription to track their own learning and education programs. Including a review of their DACE transcript in performance reviews allows us to develop a plan for future development, ensuring their goals are met and helping me develop a learning plan for the entire dairy team. Knowing how many team members need to complete programs in certain areas allows me to identify programs, update calendars and set budgets for the month or year ahead.

Continuing education is one of the most important investments we make in our farms and our people. Taking the next step to track, manage and measure those educational opportunities ensures we are making the most of that investment.

Laura Raatz of Oconto Falls, Wisconsin; and her husband, Tyler, are part owners of Wagner Farms with her brother, Shawn; and parents, Hank and Pam Wagner. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Marinette with an associate degree and a passion to go back to the farm where she is now herd manager. In this role, she focuses on taking animal health and comfort to the next level. Wagner Farms has 950 cows and approximately 1,500 acres of cropland. Raatz is involved in four other businesses including leadership training with her father, on behalf of which they recently authored their first book together.

Photo courtesy of Professional Dairy Producers.

This column is contributed by Professional Dairy Producers (PDPW), which is the nation’s largest dairy producer-led organization of its kind. PDPW focuses on producer professionalism, stakeholder engagement and unified outreach to share ideas, solutions, resources and experiences that help dairy producers succeed.