The success of any family business depends on one generation’s ability to develop the next.

It doesn’t matter if your business is a small 60-cow tiestall facility in Pennsylvania or a 4,500-cow operation in Idaho; that business can only continue as long as there is someone there who can and is able to manage it.

Multi-generation farms scatter the American countryside.

To be a member of a third-generation, fourth-generation, fifth-generation or sixth-generation farm is something to take pride in, but with it can come many challenges.

You’ve probably heard the saying “Life’s a race,” right? So what do you think? Is it? Or do you tend to think of life as more of a journey?

Many dairies are making strides in becoming better and more productive – and are being helped by highly effective team meetings. Other dairies, in comparison, struggle.

During the past 10 years of my public accounting profession, I have noticed a trend among the farming clients I serve. This trend validates the old cliché “land rich, cash poor.” This article discusses an option that can change this cliché to “land rich, cash more.”

I don’t want this article to make me out to be more important or any more special than any other person who visits your dairy, but I have been invited to quite a few dairies over the past 14 years as a hoof trimmer.

I enjoy seeing what families can accomplish through the dairy business, but I’ve also seen the financial hardship that can result when dairying does not go as planned.

It’s June Dairy Month – a time when our industry does an especially great job of promoting wholesome dairy foods and showcasing dairy farms. Here in Wisconsin, you can attend a “breakfast on the farm” event every weekend without having to travel more than 30 miles.