The life lessons of work ethic, respect for the animals, and care for employees Jared Duppengeisser learned growing up on a dairy in western N.Y. have translated into his focus on creating a positive farm culture as a manager.

Employees are one of the largest expenses on a farm – second only to feed costs. The most startling part of this statistic is that staff care is frequently low priority and high risk.

Progressive Dairy Editor Emma Ohirko caught up with Steve Funk to discuss the role of risk management for farm businesses and some strategies to minimize farmer risk and optimize program coverage. 

Strategic thinking anticipates future challenges, prepares to jump on unforeseen opportunities and aligns the farm’s goals. When done well, the farm becomes agile, adaptable while still staying focused on the basics.

Over the past few years, genetic testing has become more readily available and used by commercial cattlemen. Information that was once used mainly by registered cattle producers is being utilized to make improvements on commercial operations and produce higher-performing cattle by making decisions with more information.

Carbon sequestration, carbon capture, carbon farming – call it what you will, it all comes down to one concept: We can use plants to convert CO₂ from the atmosphere into physical forms of carbon that are locked away in the soil.

The 2023 Professional Dairy Producers (PDPW) Business Conference was held March 15-16, in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. The annual conference brought together nearly 1,400 dairy producers and industry professionals for professional development and networking.