Dairy Leader Encourages Producers To Think Outside the Box During Difficult Times

The dynamics around U.S. dairy production are changing.  With fewer farms in operation, across the Northwest and nationally, and an oversupply of milk products, the industry may experience a great deal of changes in the years ahead.  In times like these, leadership and farmer engagement are more important than ever.  World Dairy Expo’s 2018 Dairyman of the Year, Pete Kappelman said the Ag Industry, not just the dairy industry, is really struggling right now.

“It’s really important at that time, in times like this, that people can reach out, and look for opportunities, and look for things they can do differently, or do better.  It’s a commodity business, it’ll flip again, so I’m looking forward to the upswing.”

Kappelman believes great progress can be achieved when farmers engage together.  By working through difficult times, Kappelman said you learn lessons that are carried for the rest of your life.  And one of those lessons; change is inevitable.

“Once you get something right, once you get a pattern right, you want to repeat it, and that’s OK, I mean, we’ve been producing quality milk on our farm for a long time, and we kind of have the secret to that, and that’s fine, we’re going to need that.  But, if our kids are going to retire from that dairy, it’s going to look different in 30 years.”

To learn about the latest, cutting edge efforts in the dairy industry, Kappelman encourages producers to learn about the Young Dairy Leaders Institute.

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