Recently, I’ve had numerous conversations with producers who, to varying degrees, have expressed their disappointment with the smaller than expected payout from the Federal Dairy Price Relief Program. I can completely empathize with them. However, my suggestion to all of them is that, although it would have been a genuine “shot in the arm” for all producers, it’s time to move forward. We can all spend time complaining about it, but will we gain anything? I doubt it. In fact, our time will be better spent developing future courses of action for your business.

I always find it interesting to visit with various business people and discuss the challenges they are currently having with regard to running their operations. One of the most common discussion points I have had with many producers revolves around how their cash flow results compare with others.

Some of you probably remember the old song recorded by Bob Dylan many years ago. In it, he appealed to many, including Senators and Congressmen, that the times were changing, and that we needed to take some positive action to move forward successfully.

The devil, in this case, is uncertainty. Everyone in every business faces it at some point! In late 2017, I had a conversation with a Client who said: “There is so much uncertainty, I don’t know whether to contract feed or not.”

During one of my recent business trips to California, I entered a gas station and, much to my dismay, I found that 1/3 of the gas pumps were blocked off by orange cones. As a result, they were unavailable for use, and as I shared that fact with my bride of 35 years, she commented: “Half of life is blocked with orange cones (the “Cone Zone”), isn’t it?”