Earlier this month, the US Bureau of Labor and Statistics announced July’s unemployment rate at 5.4 percent, down a half percent from June and well below the record high unemployment levels experienced this time last year during the height of COVID. The Bureau also announced the average hourly earnings for all non-farm employees in June…
Someone once said, “Within the margin is where your opportunity lies.” Those of us in dairy know this all too well. Dairy farm families must balance their income carefully against their expenses, and any slight change on either side of the equation can drastically impact their margin. The current year in which we are living…
Two years ago, I wrote a column in response to a question I received from a reporter on why I still believe in dairy. Since then, that column has gone viral online, with it coming up first in search engines if you search “reasons to believe in dairy.” I am not sure why it got…
I have heard that we all have our personal journey with mental health as we walk through life’s ups and downs. Westmoreland County Dairy Farmer Chuck Carr shared his journey with mental health and wellness during the February Dairy Summit. Chuck has experienced his share of challenges, including a devastating barn fire in 2007 and…
One of my favorite 1980s television series was “The A Team.” The colorful group of vigilantes and their amazing way of pulling things off within an inch of disaster always had me on the edge of my seat. One of the famous sayings that their leader Hannibal would often say is, “I love it when…
In 1983, a movie came out that shocked America. It was called “The Day After,” and it depicted what happened on several family farms near nuclear missile silos in the Midwest after the United States and the Soviet Union launched a full- scale nuclear war against each other. I was only 10 years old at…
What does it mean to emerge? That is a question we asked children in preparation for our annual Dairy Summit, with a “Kids’ Perspectives on Dairy Farming” video one of several elements added to break up the monotony of watching presentation after presentation on the computer screen. The kids’ answers ranged from bursting out to dipping…
Winter is my least favorite season, especially on the farm. Every morning you break the ice out of the calf water buckets. Making sure lines are emptied and doors are shut tight is an every-evening routine so that nothing freezes up in the barn. Double checking all the animals becomes even more important, as pneumonia…
I have many fond memories of the holiday season growing up. Shortly after Thanksgiving, you could smell Christmas cookies baking when you walked through the farmhouse door and hear Christmas music playing all throughout the day. My mom would love hiding Christmas presents around the house, and my siblings and I would try all…
Ever since I can remember, people have described watching the volatility in dairy markets as something like riding a roller coaster. But, in 2020, it’s more comparable to a whipsaw. Those who work in the trading industry often use the term “whipsaw” to describe when a market abruptly moves in the opposite and unexpected direction….
