“A calf on the loose!”
Those were the words my son Declan hollered one evening just before bedtime. We were reading A Dairy Tale, a story about a dairy farming family with a young boy rushing through chores to get to a pickup game of basketball with his friends.
My boys go hysterical every time we read this book.
The poor young boy, Nate, tries to cleverly use his resources to complete morning chores – tying calf bottles to barn posts, draping a long tarp covered in hay onto his border collie’s collar and using his remote-control truck to deliver clean wash rags to the parlor. In doing so, the gate to the calf pen is left open, the dog takes off after a cat and spills the hay all throughout the barn alley, and the remote-control truck crashes into a muddy puddle. Calves are running wild, cows are bellowing on empty stomachs, and a little boy seems very upset his plan didn’t work out.
Nate sees the mess he created and so does his sister Hannah. Together, they return the calves to the barn and feed them the correct way, deliver hay to the feedbunk for the cows and carry new towels by hand to those in the parlor.
While sprinkled with humor for young children, the lesson in the book is that shortcuts can have serious consequences. The same is true in real life. How often have we developed a shortcut to make our lives easier in the moment, but said shortcut led to a greater shortcoming in the grander scheme of things? I don’t want to admit how many times I’ve had near-perfect plans backfire on me because I was looking for an easier way out.
I recently spoke with a handful of producers throughout the Midwest. We were talking about all things dairy – what excited them about the future of farming, what concerned them and what they felt were the missing tools they needed to keep being top-tier producers. All expressed enthusiasm for the technologies and advancements in the industry, and yet reminded me of the importance of good management no matter what resources are available.
When things are going well, as dairy markets have been lately, it is easy to lose sight of how every step counts and to use those technologies and advancements to your greatest advantage in becoming a better dairy producer. With just a couple months left in 2024 – and the tiring hours of fieldwork coming to an end – now may be the best time to review standard practices on the farm and ensure they’re appropriately followed to create a more efficient and effective day-to-day routine.
The story ended with Nate missing the basketball game, obviously. Instead, he ate a grilled cheese sandwich and played a one-on-one game with his sister. Not a terrible way to wind up after all that ensued that morning.
It's funny how children’s books can really make an adult pause and think. Some shortcuts are helpful, but most cause havoc. It’s important to follow routines and protocols, and sometimes the simplest are the most critical, like making sure the gate is closed.
