New Year’s Resolutions
Each year it’s interesting to hear what resolutions people set for themselves, whether it’s to lose weight, save money, find a new job, etc. Sometimes we keep them and sometimes, well…
For businesses it’s no different. There are goals we set for ourselves. 2011 was a year where I felt like things were flowing well for the first time in a long time. We were organized in our financial matters, day-to-day operations and spent time figuring out how to best accommodate and care for our animals through rebuilding and remodeling.
We spent several months with our project, first was getting up to code with our manure pit. We will eventually have to have six-month storage, and we were able to accomplish that by expanding to the size necessary. We rebuilt a calving barn to make it more accessible for new moms and new babies and for us to best care for each. And we built a brand new barn to take care of the young heifers so we can meet their needs as well. Each of these upgrades will provide us the opportunity to be more focused on what each age-specific group will need.
Not only did we do those things, but we made the barns more accessible for us and our employees. They are all aligned near the hub of the farm, so it will be more noticeable when someone is walking by the barn if a certain animal needs some extra attention or help assisting with the birth of a newborn calf.
We actually used the current facility by tearing down fences and other areas that didn’t make a lot of sense or weren’t meeting our needs. We had also taken down a silo that was at risk of falling. So the space where new improvements are is now better organized and the area looks bigger.
Our goal or resolution for 2012 is to utilize our new facilities to maximize comfort, efficiency, care, and time management of our staff. We’re very excited to offer the very best to our animals.