My favorite part of MDI is the team aspect that we provide with our on-farm teams. Dairy farming is unique in the fact that it’s a more individualized career and lifestyle. While many farms do have employees of different numbers, the key people that we work with on our farms for advice, expertise, and guidance aren’t on our farm every day of the week.
At MDI we work with farms to help them create on-farm teams that meet around four times a year. Some teams meet more if a farm is going though a large change such as a transition, expansion, or facility changes. Each team is custom fit to the needs of the farm. The producer is able to hand pick who they would like to serve on their on-farm team. Common team members include nutritionists, lenders, veterinarians, creamery representatives, FBM instructors, reproductive specialists, and others. The important part to remember is each farmer is able to pick exactly who they want around their table helping guide their operation.
MDI on-farm teams meet to help the farm set goals, plan for the future, and better their operation. It has been very fun serving as the state director for the past few years and hearing so many success stories from farms. These farms have utilized their MDI on-farm team to help them make changes, improvements and transition the farm to the next generation. It is so fulfilling knowing that MDI is providing a service that is aiding in the success of Minnesota’s dairy farms.
Looking into the future, MDI wants to be of the utmost value to Minnesota dairy farmers. Recently, MDI coordinators have completed a training in which they learned the skills and obtained the tools to help farms with strategic planning. Strategic planning helps farms set 1, 3, and 5 year goals as well as create a clear vision for their farm. Strategic planning will become a vital tool for farms in the future to help maintain profitability and longevity for their farm.
MDI embraces the true team aspect for each farm that we work with. Without everyone’s knowledge around the table at the same time, great ideas and options may not arise. We appreciate all of the farms and industry professionals that we work with and enjoy watching dairy farms succeed!
Emily Mollenhauer, MDI State Director
