In order to manage change better, we need to know more about the changes taking place, their causes, successful strategies for managing change and what makes some strategies more successful than others - From Organizational and Structural Changes in the Dairy Industry

RESEARCH:

Organizational and Structural Changes in the Dairy Industry: Multi-State Research Project Summary
Dairy farming and the dairy industry are undergoing tremendous structural transformation. The size, number and distribution of farms are changing. Labor and management structures are changing. Specialization is leading to changes in enterprise combinations. New technologies are changing the mix of capital, land and labor - and require new skills. The transformation has disrupted everyone from suppliers of inputs to the consumers of dairy products and from individuals to families to communities, as they all try to adjust.
The problem is change and management of the change. Dairy farm families, dairy handlers, processors, retailers, consumers and communities, state and local officials, and national policy makers struggle to adapt to the changes. Lack of understanding of the change leads to disorientation, dislocation, inappropriate family and business decisions, inappropriate policies and regulations, inefficient allocations of public and private resources, and loss of livelihood and way of life.
http://www.agnr.umd.edu/users/NERA/projects/NE-177.htm

2020 Vision? The Future of Dairy Cattle Breeding from an Academic Perspective - P. J. Boettcher, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada. 2001 J. Dairy Sci. 84(E. Suppl.):E62-E68.
In the future, all aspects of dairy cattle breeding will continue to be shaped by trends in the industry that have been occurring for the past generation. Dairy farms will continue to increase in size and decrease in number. Advancement will continue in the development and adoption of computers, genomics, and other technologies, and the dairy cattle breeding industry will continue to become more global in its scale. These factors will both directly and indirectly affect the research and teaching activities of those who chose to follow a career path similar to Gene Freeman’s. A major consequence of these factors
is that as farm sizes increase and the proportion of the public directly involved in dairy production decreases, the public support for teaching and research in dairy cattle breeding is also likely to diminish. Family farms will likely be increasingly viewed as businesses and asked to directly support a greater portion of their research and development activities. Nevertheless, the public will still influence research priorities. Health and well being of cattle and genetic diversity will likely become more important as consumers re­act to concerns about food safety and animal welfare. These factors will also be of direct concern to breeders, because they influence profit by affecting costs of production. Producers will put increased value on trouble-free cattle that demand less individual attention. Computers and automated equipment will allow data for health and functional traits to be captured efficiently, which will be necessary before either traditional or genomics based selection tools can be applied. New technology resulting from research will be transferred to the field and applied more quickly. Graduate students will require very diverse training. Although graduates will probably work in very specialized fields (and probably not in academics) and perform relatively specialized tasks, they will likely be doing so as members of larger teams. The ability to interact and communicate with their collaborators, as well as breeders, industry representatives and the general public, will be paramount.
http://www.asds.org/jds/papers/2001/jds_es62.pdf

An Overview of Experiences of Wisconsin Dairy Farmers who Modernized Their Operations - J. Bewley,* R. W. Palmer,* and D. B. Jackson-Smith†, *Department of Dairy Science †Program on Agricultural Technology Studies University of Wisconsin, 2001 J. Dairy Sci. 84:717-729.
Wisconsin dairy producers who modernized their operations between 1994 and 1998 had positive feelings about their expansion experiences, accompanied by increased production and improved profitability and quality of life. The average herd in this survey experienced increased production during the 5-yr period studied. Nearly all producers were satisfied with their expansion experience. The negative effect on milk production normally associated with expansion was minimal for most years and did not exist if all herds were summarized together. Managing labor appeared to be the most daunting challenge facing producers following expansion.
Respondents who built all new facilities observed higher production, greater labor efficiency, and satisfaction with measures of profitability and quality of life than respondents who modified facilities or added no new facilities. As herd size increased, milk production, labor efficiency, and satisfaction with herd performance, profitability, and quality of life increased. Producers who built all new facilities spent less time on farm work, more time managing employees, and had less difficulty finding, training, supervising, and keeping farm employees than producers who modified facilities or added new facilities to existing operations. Larger herds were associated with an increased reliance on nonfamily labor. Managing labor appears to be an easier task for managers of larger herds. The most difficult challenges for producers who modernized their operations were with labor management, financing, and loan procurement, construction and cost overruns, and feet and leg health. Difficulties with expansion differed little between expansion types (same type, some new, or all new facilities) or herd sizes.
http://www.asds.org/jds/papers/2001/d013717.pdf


PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS:

Michigan Dairy Farm Industry: Summary and Analysis of the 1999 Michigan State University Dairy Farm Survey - Christopher Wolf, Stephen Harsh, Shawn Bucholtz, Amy Damon and James Lloyd.
The Michigan dairy industry has been in a continual process of transformation towards fewer total cows producing more milk per cow on fewer and larger farms. This trend is not unique to Michigan—it has been observed throughout the United States. Over the past 20 years, the number of dairy cows in Michigan has dropped 26 percent. Other large dairy-producing states in the Upper Midwest and northeastern United States also had declines in milk cow numbers.
http://www.animalag.msu.edu/report/23_final.pdf

The Changing Face of Wisconsin Dairy Farms: A Summary of PATS' Research on Structural Change in the 1990s - Douglas Jackson-Smith and Bradford Barham
In this report, data on recent patterns of expansion, entry, and exit among Wisconsin operators is used to illustrate how dairy farm structure has been changing in the state. The results suggest that recent changes are largely an extension of long-run trends involving modest, incremental growth in herd size, as well as declining rates of entry into the sector. Moreover, medium-size dairy herds are likely to continue to play a central role in
Wisconsin and U.S. dairy farming for the foreseeable future. Implications of findings for public research and extension programs are discussed.
http://www.wisc.edu/pats/abscf.htm

FAMILY FARMS WILL RETAIN MAJOR ROLE IN WISCONSIN’S DAIRY INDUSTRY – George Gallepp.
To paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of the death of the family dairy farm have been greatly exaggerated.
Medium-sized, family dairy operations will remain central to Wisconsin dairy farming for the foreseeable future, according to Brad Barham and Douglas Jackson-Smith, co-directors of the Program on Agricultural Technology Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
During the past 40 years, the number of dairy farms in Wisconsin has decreased from more than 100,000 to about 22,000 while the average herd size has increased from 20 cows to 65 cows per farm. The average herd in California — often the model of "industrial" dairying — is about 500 cows.
http://www.cals.wisc.edu/media/news/12_00/family_farms_dairy.html

Consolidation in Food Retailing and Dairy: Implications for Farmers and Consumers in a Global Food System - Mary Hendrickson, William Heffernan, Philip Howard and Judith Heffernan, National Farmers Union, Denver, Colorado. 2001.
Over the last decade, it has become clear that the consolidation in the food system will likely be organized around five or six global food chain clusters and will extend to retail markets [see “Consolidation in the food and agriculture system,” reviewed in Sustainable Agriculture Summer 2000 (Vol. 12, No. 2)]. Horizontal integration, vertical integration and globalization are the three major processes driving this consolidation. This article describes these trends in the retail and dairy sectors and outlines the implications and questions such trends raise for farmers and consumers.
http://www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/newsltr/v13n1/technical-1.htm

Where we have come from – Fonterra Co-operative Group. This history of consolidation in New Zealand and abroad has led to continued debate about the structure of the industry. In recent years, that has included increased debate over the future role of the New Zealand Dairy Board, and the statutory powers it holds.
After three years of debate and some setbacks, the New Zealand Dairy Group and Kiwi Co-operative Dairies have agreed to merge as the next logical step in the consolidation of the industry. When the companies are confident of Government support for the necessary legislative and regulatory changes, they will put their Merger Package to their shareholders for approval so that implementation can be achieved in the 2001/2 season.
http://fonterra.com/how/archive/merger/02from.htm

The Australian Dairy Industry - Facts about Deregulation and the Restructure Package – Milk Matters, ADIC.

What Milk Deregulation Is All About
The dairy industry is today one of the most successful segments of Australia’s rural sector. In value added terms, it is Australia’s largest rural industry, employing some 60,000 people.

The year 2000 will be a critical turning point for the industry. In eight months time, on 30 June 2000:

· the Federal Government's Domestic Market Support (DMS) scheme will end

· all States’ market milk legislation will have been reviewed under National Competition Policy (State legislation administers the market milk/drinking milk sector of the industry).
http://www.dairy.com.au/adic/newmm1.html

Dairy heifer prices high, should remain strong - MICHIGAN FARM NEWS, May 15, 2001.
With top-quality springing dairy heifers commanding anywhere from $1,500 to $2,000, the market may be near its peak, according to Kevin Kirk, animal health liaison with the Michigan Department of Agriculture. But the market should remain strong as long as dairy consolidation trends - and strong milk prices - continue.
"I think the peak is probably getting close now," Kirk said. "The price of milk is driving heifer prices, and heifer demand is expected to hold for a little bit, then most likely it will drop in mid-summer."
http://www.michiganfarmbureau.com/publications/farmnews/
mfn05152001/prices.html