Here you can find John Ellsworth’s appearances on Dairyline Radio where he gives insightful and useful tips in making your dairy farm more profitable.
Dairyline Radio Archive
Why Aren’t You Dancing in the Rain?November 12, 2024 - 12:28 pm
What Is Your Next Step?October 30, 2024 - 9:59 pm
Are You Facing Adversity?October 16, 2024 - 7:43 pm
How Can I Decide?September 21, 2024 - 1:37 pm
What Do I Do Now?September 10, 2024 - 5:39 pm
Are You Always Running Out of Time?
On our way to an important bank meeting, my client turned to me and said, “I wish I had more time to prepare for this – I’ve been so busy I didn’t do a thing for the meeting.” “Are you kidding?” I asked. Busy? Doing what? So we analyzed it: 84 hours per week at the dairy, 21 hours firefighting, and 18 hours in meetings!
“No Excuses!”
Where do you really want to be in five years? In ten years? How can you get there? What will it take to succeed in reaching those goals?
Don’t Worry, Be Happy!
Remember the song entitled “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”? Humorous? Yes, you couldn’t help but smile when you heard it! Wish you could do so? Yes. Realistic? Probably Not!
Should I be fixing my Interest Rates?
This is a question many people are asking. I believe it’s something we need to be looking at regularly. As far as when you should fix them, that depends on many factors.
Would You Be Ready?
We’ve talked previously about setting goals! There are benefits to being prepared for crises that can occur in your business. We need to have a plan in place for these types of challenges.
Futurists Jim Taylor and Watts Wacker, in their book The 500 Year Delta, stated that every business should develop a “Disaster Agenda”. While all of us are faced with negative challenges and nobody wants to dwell on them, we would be well served if we have given these situations some forethought. This is true for a crisis that might occur in any part of your operation: herd health, nutrition, facilities, management, or finances.
If I Ran the Circus…
What a tumultuous year! The last twelve months in the dairy industry looked like a cross between two of Dr. Seuss’ children’s books. On the one hand, it parallels If I Ran the Circus with its irrational supply and demand, particularly on commodities that are plentiful in comparison with their current usage, yet remain overpriced. On the other hand, our industry scenario seems to be replicating Stop That Ball with an economy that appears relatively lifeless, yet in other ways seems completely out of control when we look at the painful process of loan approvals and the dramatic changes in real estate. Hopefully, things will be appearing more normal again soon!