5 Things I can't do without

Leon Leavitt is the emeritus publisher of Progressive Dairyman. He recently returned from a church service mission to Chile. He shares what a dairyman shouldn’t be without this Christmas.

Faith
“Faith in God and in his Son Jesus Christ, for whose birth we celebrate at Christmas. If there were no Christ child, there would be no Christmas. The prospect of pursuing this life without Their help and assistance is incomprehensible. If we don’t have faith, nothing else matters. And it can’t be passive faith.”

 

Prayer
“We need a desire to develop faith by some personal and family time in daily scripture reading and daily prayer. You can learn about God by studying what He said and continues to say. He has given us answers to life’s questions, and we can find them in scripture. But you have to couple reading with prayer. Prayer is two-way communication. It is asking and receiving between oneself and one’s Maker. He expects to hear from us – not just twice a year at Christmas and Easter. One of the easiest scripture verses to remember is ASK: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

 

Spouse and family
“These are our primary responsibilities, and blessings, as well. If we aren’t dairying for our family, what are we doing it for? Family is what it’s all about. We all have a sense of duty and obligation for those we love and care about the most. If we have faith and prayer, we will feel a duty and obligation to do what we do for family.”

 

Friends
“A dairyman needs another dependable dairyman as a friend. Someone who can say, ‘Yes, you can do it. You can make a difference. You can choose to be happy and productive.’ With low milk prices and high forage prices, sometimes producers wonder how they’ll make it through the day. Keep a positive attitude and have self-confidence. We all need someone who can help us through the pitfalls of life or who will just listen when you need an ear.”

 

People better than yourself
“Surround yourself with the best team of progressive professionals you can find and have faith in their competence. Build relationships of trust with your veterinarian, nutritionist, herdsman, milkers, calf raisers, milk plant fieldman, feed suppliers, milking equipment dealer, banker, accountant, lawyer, etc. This may involve selecting some ‘out of the box’.”