We all can remember situations when we felt out of place or like we didn’t belong. In that moment, time stood still. We stood there, feeling like a sore thumb, looking desperately for someone to make us feel like we were meant to be there.

Have you ever considered what your core values are? Or better yet, have you thought about what the core values are for your farm or business? Someone once said that core values can serve as a lighthouse when the fog of life starts circling around you.

The winter months, to me, are some of the most peaceful on our small dairy farm in Adams County, Pennsylvania. Because of our milking schedule, I often go to the barn when it is dark out, and the stars are bright in the sky.

An employee who has been with our team for nearly five years just turned in his resignation. He was the kind of employee that anyone would want. He does an excellent job in his role, works well with the rest of the team and doesn’t take a lot of oversight.

This is the time of year when I look out my window with a sense of dread at all the work I need to do. It’s not the field work or chores out in the barn that I see. It’s the weeds growing in the flower gardens that surround my house.

In January, I had the opportunity to volunteer at the Calving Corner, which is Pennsylvania’s live dairy cow birthing center at the Pennsylvania Farm Show.

Growing a dairy business doesn’t always necessitate adding more cows. In the case of Pennsylvania’s Oregon Dairy Farm, it meant a dramatic reduction in cow numbers and building on custom cropping and agritourism enterprises. Interviewed in a recent Pennsylvania Center for Dairy Excellence (CDE) “Cow-Side Conversations” podcast, Maria Forry discussed her family farm’s move to create new and diverse revenue streams.

Anyone who has ever been to a dairy meeting knows all about labels. Folks visiting your farm are often eager to leave behind a hat or something else with their logo on it to remind you of their company and the services or products they offer.

For fourth-generation dairy producer Jared Kurtz, managing the income-generating capabilities of a dairy herd and farm are important for the future, but investing energy in family is foundational to building a dairy legacy.