When you think about expanding your dairy, typically your first thought goes to adding on to your existing site. Today’s modern operations, however, are thinking outside the box – or, outside of their existing property lines.
Expanding your dairy farm from one location to multiple can be a game-changer for your operation. However, this leap also comes with its own set of complexities and challenges that require careful consideration and strategic planning. Just ask John Vosters and Jordan Matthews, two dairy farmers who have experienced what it takes to create multi-site operations.
During a recent Professional Dairy Producers webinar, Vosters, a partner and livestock manager at MilkSource LLC, based in Kaukauna, Wis., and Matthews, a partner at Rosy-Lane Holsteins LLC, based out of Watertown, Wis., discussed the opportunities and obstacles of managing multi-site facilities.
Here are four tips they recommend farmers consider before deciding to operate another facility.
Employee the Right People
Whether you manage a single dairy or multiple operations, Vosters and Matthews note that success boils down to having the right people on your team.
“We stick a lot of time into making sure that we have the right guys in the right place,” Vosters says. “Our best people go through training on how to become better leaders and team members. And typically, our best employees are the ones who are homegrown, not hired from outside, because they have learned and grew in our culture.”
At Rosy-Lane, Matthews shares how they had three key employees who had the potential to become great leaders. So, when the opportunity to run a second operation was brought to the table, Matthews and his partners made sure that these three employees were on board to help expand the farm and grow in their roles.
“People in leadership roles want to be continuously challenged,” Matthews says. “These guys were up for that challenge. We made sure to have conversations with them throughout the process, and it was their buy-in that helped us make the final decision to move forward with the expansion.”
Communicate
Another key area Vosters and Matthews emphasized is the importance of maintaining clear communication. Managing multi-site operations requires an efficient communication strategy to ensure everyone is on the same page. For Vosters and Matthews, this means using various tools and methods to keep their teams informed.
One way Rosy-Lane helps ensure communication is kept up across multiple sites is by creating WhatsApp text groups. These groups enable quick and efficient communication with different teams, eliminating the need to gather everyone for a brief meeting.
Similarly, the teams at MilkSource also utilize WhatsApp to communicate efficiently and quickly. Some of these groups include the milking teams, feeding teams and even a group for all of the different location farm managers.
From regularly scheduled in-person meetings to team group texts, both farmers work to ensure that all team members, regardless of their location, are aligned with the farm’s culture and goals.
Stay Organized
Having standardized protocols across locations is another tactic Vosters and Matthews say has helped streamline daily responsibilities. They emphasized the importance of having clear protocols in place to ensure consistency and efficiency across all locations.
“You can’t be the guy that does all the hands-on stuff,” Vosters says. “You have to share the responsibility and organize that work structure. We have definitely learned that organizing work is critical. This means every job is done at a specific time in a specific way.”
In addition to clear protocols, the duo highlights the necessity of training all team members. This ensures that everyone understands their roles and responsibilities and can operate effectively no matter the location.
“We have specific protocols for all work and someone responsible to see that those jobs are performed to expectation,” Matthews adds. “A lot of this comes back to how those employees were trained.”
Have a Plan
Before committing to operating a second location, Vosters and Matthews stress analyzing the details and creating a comprehensive roadmap to achieve your goals. This includes evaluating resource requirements, financial implications and potential challenges.
Some of the questions they recommend asking yourself before making the final decision include:
- Is your current management structure efficient? If not, running multiple operations is going to further complicate this.
- Do you have the time? How will you split your time in the future?
- Are you willing to give up some of the hands-on responsibility? Who are some of the
- Where will you source the animals? Do you plan to grow from within or purchase heifers/cows from other locations?
- Are you absolutely sure you can’t expand at your current site?
Expanding your dairy farm from one location to multiple sites is a complex but potentially a transformative opportunity. By considering the outlined factors and learning from those who have successfully made the transition, you can better position your operation for growth and sustainability.
