I have the great privilege of observing my youngest daughter as she acquires these abilities that she will use regularly for the rest of her life. As you may know, these simple skills, which we can easily take for granted now as adults, were very hard to come by when we were babies.
As I watch my child, the first thing I notice is her patient observation. She is always watching, studying and scrutinizing the movements of others. Before she ever made a move herself, she spent hours, days and months watching how the people around her carried out their actions.
Her next step is developing a plan. Even though I can’t possibly know her thoughts, I can tell by her actions that she must have had a plan. Now that she has mastered walking,
I have seen her stop what she is doing, go to the next room, grab a specific bucket, bring it back and begin putting her toys in it. Or she will see an available kitchen chair, push it across the room and climb up to grab something she wanted.
To do these actions with such focus, I can only determine that she must have first taken the time to establish a plan.
After diligent watching and careful planning, she is finally able to seize her opportunity. Whether it is the toy she desired to play with or the snack on top the counter she wanted to eat, her plan paid off, and she is satisfied with her results.
As I listened to Peter Gould, general manager of Dairy Farmers of Ontario, describe current policies affecting the Canadian dairy industry at the PDO Triennial Symposium in March, I couldn’t help but notice some similarities between how those basic skills in life are developed and Ontario’s new ingredient strategy, which went into effect on April 1.
First, it sounds like DFO spent a lot of time watching. By closely observing recent trade agreements (CETA and TPP) as well as the processing capabilities throughout the country, an understanding of the current scenarios facing the industry could be established.
With those in mind, DFO began establishing a plan, which likely transpired months before the October announcement to launch a new ingredient strategy in 2016 and then continued for months afterwards as the plan was further drawn up and put into place.
The purpose of the plan is meant to open up new opportunities for Ontario dairy producers. Gould said the new ingredient strategy “will create a new dynamic in the industry where I think we’ll discover opportunities that have been impossible to pursue at the present time.”
Just as each of us acquired new skills early in life, a change in dairy policy can be accomplished by diligently watching and planning in order to seize new opportunities. PD
PHOTO: After constructing a plan, my daughter was able to seize an opportunity by getting to a basket of Easter candy. Photo by Karen Lee.
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Karen Lee
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