Our hands are the first touch point with the many physical connections dairymen make every day. From shaking hands with a farm visitor to milking cows, we may not realize how important our hands are until they became so dry, cracked and rough that what should be an easy task becomes painful.  How well do your hands withstand winter’s harsh conditions and the 24-7 skin challenges of dairy farming? If you’re answer is “Nothing seems to work” then here is information and several steps you can use to repair, protect and soothe your hands.

Overworked hands are vulnerable hands

The first step in helping your hands to stay healthy is understanding what it is that is causing the problem.  It all starts when the outer layer of skin is compromised.  Ideally, skin is meant to hold onto moisture and rejuvenate itself naturally.  But constant exposure to bad weather, dirt, chemicals and the sun can gradually damage this layer. Let’s take a look closer at four factors that cause damage.

1. People who consistently have to wash their hands or immerse their hands in water experience a loss of moisture, as the water steals the skin’s natural moisturizing oils away
2. People who work with chemicals on a daily basis, or who regularly use chemical-based household cleaners, often have severely chapped hands. These chemicals rob the skin of its moisture, and damage the outer layer, leaving skin vulnerable to all kinds of problems.
3. Old-fashioned soap bars are drying to the skin. Many of today’s commercial clensers and hand soaps also disrupt skin’s natural integrity, which slows the natural process of skin repair and creates dryness and cracking.
4. Dry air. Air such as that which occurs in dry climates and during the cold, winter months, saps moisture out of the skin.

Other factors, such as medical skin conditions (like psoriasis and eczema), allergens, and certain medications, can also contribute to dry, cracking skin.

Dairy farming is hands on!

Constant use of our hands — especially in winter conditions – can lead to damage.  Once hands become dry and cracked, everything we do with them can make the damage much worse. It sometimes seems like the skin will never feel smooth again.  (I remember my father-in-law’s hands and the measures he would take to speed up the healing process. My heart went out to him each winter as he found creative ways to heal the fissures that opened up in his hands).

Products Suggested On The Milk House

Before we start into the whys and wherefores of hand care, let’s consider what other people have tried.  First we must recognize that not everything works for everyone in the same way. A recent discussion on The Milk House also included suggestions of name brand salves, creams, and lotions (Read more: INTRODUCING THE MILK HOUSE – DAIRY BREEDER NETWORKING ON FACEBOOK). The Bullvine is not making specific promotions or endorsements but merely giving the widest possible picture of what the options might be.

Personal Experiences Provide Hands-On Insight

Many readers of The Bullvine and The Milk House have personal experience with the discomfort of sore hands.  I went to them and other friends in the medical profession and hair salons.  For those who work 24/7 with their hands, taking time off until they heal is not an option.

Several dairy folks, a nurse, and workers in my local hair salon shared what they have learned from trial and error. One suggestion that came from more than one of those whose hands reached the cracked and bleeding stage was using an emery board and finger nail file to sand down the cracks. “I use a fingernail file to move all the dry, dead or thick skin. Getting the old skin off is the key. Afterward, the lotion and salve soak in better.” Those who have tried this agree that the quick heal is worth the brief pain. One intriguing suggestion was to paint the cracks with 2 or 3 layers of clear nail polish. “It’s inexpensive and very effective at protecting those areas.  I can work and just sand and reapply as needed until they heal.” I have personal experience watching husband Murray use Crazy Glue or Super Glue. Some report that this method stings for a few secs when first applied, but Murray reports “It was stinging before the treatment, so it isn’t any more painful, and it protects the opening from germs, and usually heals within 2 to 3 days.” Of course, everyone needs motivation, and Murray maintains that one of his motivators was “my wife”!

“H2OhMy!”

Water plays several roles in both good and bad hands. Start with drinking water.  It’s easy to get dehydrated and not realize it. Then there is the water you immerse your hands in during your work day.  On the one hand, it seems that water should be enough for the moisture in your hands.  In fact, the opposite is true.  Constant exposure to water can be very drying, so the first three words to memorize after your hands have been in water are:

“Moisturize, Moisturize, Moisturize”

After each and every wash, moisturize your hands.  Some even go so far as to carry moisturizer all the time. It’s up to you to take charge of healing parched scaly hands.

“Some Like It Hot! But Cool is Kinder!”

The next step may take changing your headset regarding water temperature.  Use lukewarm water. Water that’s either hot or cold can make the problem worse. So the next time you’re tempted to turn the heat up, make sure lukewarm is the highest you go, if you want your hands to be happy.

“Skip the Bar”

By its very nature dairying makes us conscious of avoiding germs.  Being told to avoid soap if you can, seems to go against the grain. Dermatologists say soap can actually make your skin feel dry, by stripping oils from the skin. If you must use soap, avoid formulas with synthetic fragrances, preservatives, and sulfates, as these are all drying.  Foaming and antibacterial soaps also strip your skin of its natural fats and oils.  One option is to choose moisturizing cleansers instead and be sure you rinse thoroughly.

“Go Undercover! ”

The extreme condition of your working hands means that you must take every opportunity to protect your hands.  A good rule of thumb (pun intended) is to be aware whenever you might be working with something that you wouldn’t apply to your face; you should wear gloves. Yes, this is occasionally inconvenient but think about what you ask your hands to do over and over again.  When hands are healthy, you use them like they are gloved to touch harsh chemicals.  Normally that isn’t a problem because healthy hand skin is a pretty good barrier, but the chapped skin is broken.  “Harsh chemicals get through chapped skin, irritating it like putting lemon juice on a cut.”  The best approach is to wear gloves.  Many feel that wearing milking gloves under work gloves is the right approach. “Lotions for healing cow’s teats and udders worn under nitrile gloves while you milk rally help.  You are using your hands so much when you milk, that it messages your hands at the same time.” A good tip is to avoid vinyl gloves.  They can make skin even more dry.  Instead, use cotton or leather.

“Prevention is 9/10ths of the Cure.”

You may already do many of the things mentioned so far, but sometimes we forget.  The best treatment is always prevention. So whether you’re in the barn, the fields or just washing up in the milkhouse, protect your hands from damage.

“Sleep On It”

This next step doesn’t cut into your work day.  At night, once you chose a proper pair of gloves, slather on your favorite hand cream or you could just use Vaseline and put them on.

The gloves will ensure that the slave stays put.  Even a single overnight session will go a long way towards healing your hands.  Keep experimenting until you find a heavy-duty moisturizer that is free of fragrance and all of the additives that contribute to drying your hard-working hands. Some of those I spoke to said that they add two further steps to their glove program. “I start my soaking my hands first to open up the cells so that they will take up the cream.” Then they add one final protection. “After I apply Vaseline I wrap my hands in saran wrap and then the gloves. This works great on feet too!” The whole purpose to get the healing below the damaged dried out upper layers of skin.

“Old School.  Raise Your Hand!”

There are always those who have a slightly different perspective on problems and their solutions, especially when it seems somewhat self-centered. One Milk House reader explained his reasoning, “When I was younger, cracked chapped hands were a symbol to wear proudly.  It showed that you worked hard, and you were a real man.  I’m still a little too old school to use anything too sissified, but I have been known to get bag balm on my hands when doctoring a cow.” From the other end of the spectrum, a reader who wears gloves and salves replied, “I don’t like cracked hands when feeding calves. The acid and detergent water get in there and that crap burns!  If I’m sissy for that, so be it!”

The Bullvine Bottom Line

You use your hands constantly.  When your skin finally cracks and chaps, it affects everything you do. Be proactive when it comes to caring for the health of your skin.  Lock that moisture in long before your hands start drying out, and you will be as comfortable at work as you are going out for a nice dinner.

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Business experts agree that a messy office has a direct impact on your reputation as a dairy manager and also affects how people will work with you.  Some will assume that your office chaos will spill over onto any business dealings they might have with you.  At the very least, they worry that their files could be lost in your mess. With the approaching tax deadline, there are even more reasons to make sure your office is organized and well-maintained.

Are we suggesting that we need office inspectors?

With all the stresses of dairy farming, do we really need one more?  Many feel that people read too much into a messy office.  Of course the same could be said of a super neat one.  How do you know whether they’re truly neat or whether they just bagged everything up and threw it in a closet before you dropped in?

The state of your office isn’t the only measure of your dairy business strengths

There are many talents that must be developed when you are committed to making your dairy operation the best that it can be. Nevertheless, having your office materials well-organized does help with that all-important first impression.  As time goes on, it also helps in building an ongoing working relationship. People coming into your well-organized office are more likely to recognize that doing business with you is efficient and effective.

Here are 4 benefits of a clean office.

1. Mess equals stress.
   When you feel stress, it’s easier to blame a supplier or staff or both for the problem or problems at hand. A decluttered office makes you feel calm and relaxed. You are more likely to find solutions that are needed, when you aren’t overwhelmed by papers that are missing.
2. Being organized saves time.
   The less stuff there is, the less you have to clean, put away and maintain. Constantly sorting and moving stuff is a vicious cycle. The 24/7 nature of dairy life doesn’t need added workload in the office. When you have less stuff to deal with, you have more time for your priorities. Don’t underestimate it.
3. Focus filing means a better bottom line
   Spending hours searching, sifting and screaming is both counterproductive and costly. Once you are able to step into a decluttered office, you will be able to get things done without being distracted or overwhelmed by mess.
4. No more “tax”ing headaches

Do your nerves gradually tense up as tax deadlines approach? Wouldn’t it be great to know where the stuff you need is every single time? When you organize the important things and clear away the rest, you will never panic again. Ready and on time. Awesome.

What does your office say about your dairy?

You are well aware that cows and milk production are the top priorities of your work day. But just as your cows and equipment make an impression on others, your workspace gives suppliers and consultants a distinct impression about you. “Everything in your office sends a message, whether you want it to or not.” So what might people be thinking when they step into your office. 

“This manager has his finger on everything that goes on here”

Whether you have been in the dairy business 20 months or 20 years, there are challenges to be met every day.  You have to deal with veterinarians, your dairy staff, your family, the banker and countless suppliers and consultants who want a piece of you and your wallet.  Organize your office so that you can meet your goals while having a productive dialogue with each of these stakeholders.

“I was successful and with it in the past!”

Awards.  Trophies.  Certificates.  These can mark a successful career.  Or they can become faded … and dusty … with dates more that a decade old! The same is true of your family gallery. If you have a grad picture of your daughter her figure skating photo when she was five is overkill.  And your desk should never parade your hairstyles of the past decade.  Make it a point to update photos.  Don’t simply add frames. The past is past!

“Meet my support crew! ‘Candy’, ‘Caffeine’ and “Cigarettes’!”

Not everyone sees themselves as an amateur detective but sometimes the evidence is just too obvious to miss.  A full candy dish, pop and beer cans says that perhaps your backup team is the first thing you reach for. A desk cluttered with empty coffee cups and energy drinks may be sending a message about your time management … or lack of it.

“I can’t even manage the small details. Don’t give me something big to think about.”

When every corner is stacked with boxes and all the flat surfaces are buried under teetering piles of paper, half-eaten pizzas and crumpled invoices, scraps of paper and unknown equipment parts, it is hard to believe that this is an organization focused on leading edge milk production, dairy genetics or achieving ever higher benchmarks.

“I don’t have time for new information”

Sometimes an office doesn’t have to be cluttered or messy to send a message.  In fact, an office with sticky notes everywhere and corkboards an inch deep in paper and pins is not short of organization, it could merely be short of effective organization.  If a light breeze would disturb the priority order of your routine, it’s time to pull down the sticky notes and start compiling your lists and information in a way more befitting the 21t century.  Now put a note up about that upcoming computer seminar training series!

So how do you transform your workspace to tell your story?

Ask yourself these questions.

What is your dairy business all about?

What makes your family and staff proud?

What story and image do you want to convey that sets you apart from your competition? What will inspire you and the people who share your space?

Here are 6 ways to begin your dairy office transformation.

1. Start with one small step at a time. It is a common but fatal mistake to pull everything out all at once and try to tackle the whole mess at once. Much better and more successful is simply tackling one area at a time. The desktop. One file drawer.  One shelf.
2. Never make more mess than you can clean up in fifteen minutes. To keep yourself committed to the final outcome, stop after a set time period. Do every day until every area in your office has a place for everything and everything in its place.
3. Schedule a declutter day. For some, steps one and two may be too slow.  This means you might want to schedule a declutter day.  Ideally you should find a period of uninterrupted time that you know can be made available for tackling a big office issues: tax files; legal documents or shredding of documents. Although this is a bigger undertaking, it is important not to take on more than you can handle in the time you have available.
4. Go paperless. Get rid of unnecessary paper and magazines. Scan the articles you know you will need.  Throw away the rest.  Uploading documents makes them accessible from anywhere.
5. Set up a system of flow through that works for you. Dairy folks have years of hands on experience making sure that their dairy cattle are in the right place at the right time. Flow through is a concept that is applied from the milkhouse to the show ring. Paper, projects and information that come to the farm should flow through the system in the same organized way.  Assign a folder to the priority tasks you handle with paper and watch your bottom line improve
6. Get rid of your junk drawer. Many desks have a shallow drawer front and centre. For many this becomes a catch space where you throw thing to get the out of sight. You can go to Pinterest and find hundreds of ways to organize the countless tiny items.  Organization took a huge leap forward for me when I emptied that mini-office-supply store drawer and only keep two things inside:
   1. my daily calendar and
   2. my current project binder there.

First thing every day those two items come out.  I fire up my computer and get to work.  At the end of the day, the calendar and binder go back in the drawer.  On some occasion, my Mac laptop joins them and my desktop is completely clear. It’s amazing how much this clear space helps in keeping everything organized and accessible.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

At the end of your dairy work day, you are the only one who has control over the message sent out by your office layout, logistics and décor. Ideally, your cow sense and dairy results are already speaking loud and clear. Now make sure your office organization supports that message!

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What are the key reasons that lead dairy managers to make the decision to expand? Are they purely financial? Or is it related to the long-term viability of the dairy? Maybe they know something about new markets? No.  It’s more complicated than that.

Dairy owners and managers spend 90% of their time finding and fixing problems.  They want healthier cows, more money, better feed, staff that is happier, more capable and hard working, and on and on.

Who wouldn’t want to solve all these problems?  Yet these are not the real problem.  The real problem is that there are so many problems that dairies get stuck like deer in the headlights.  They’re not prepared to fight.  They aren’t ready for flight.  So they freeze or, at the very least, resist change.

“One reason people resist change is because they focus on what they have to give up, instead of on what they have to gain.”

Change is necessary for any business that wants to grow and prosper. Having said that, growth doesn’t always mean bigger.

Unrestrained growth in any business can have serious consequences. Growth comes at a cost. More capital, more physical resources and more people. These go on the ledger as expenses well before there is a return on the investment. Thus, dairy managers face a double-edged sword. On the one hand, we want to ensure that the business grows, but, at the same time, we need to control that growth so that it does not cause its eventual downfall.

“Plan to grow by all means, but not by any means.  Define what growth means to your dairy then plan to grow within that definition.”

Have You Done Your Growth Homework?

Before you go big, you have to do your due diligence.  Here are twelve steps to take action on before you leap into expansion.

1. Visit farms who have gone through an expansion.
2. Plan. Plan. Consider your future needs. Do research.
3. Use top notch consultants.
4. Make sure you have considered, cash flow, loan availability and financial resources.
5. Don’t rush into deadlines. Take time.
6. Accept advice from farmers and consultants.
7. Know your family. Know your goals.
8. Don’t overlook the importance of manure handling and storage required by an expanded facility.
9. Focus on labor efficiency and profitability.
10. Hire reputable builders and contractors.
11. Be open- minded, flexible and ready to change.
12. Be prepared to expand your management style to accommodate the new facility.

To Determine if Expansion is the Answer, First Ask the Right Questions.

It is exciting to think of all the potential improvements that could be put into place along with an expansion.  Unfortunately, improvements should be considered before adding land, cows or facilities.  Give complete answers to the following questions derived from ones suggested by Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service. Go beyond a simple “Yes” whenever you can.

1. Do you currently have the skills to manage employees?
2. How can you improve the efficiency and profitability of the present operation?
3. Can production per cow be increased? Can reproduction efficiency be improved?
4. Could the current herd be milked three times per day? Is your staff used effectively?
5. Would it be possible to send the heifers to a contract raiser and expand the cow herd?
6. What are my financial goals? Can revenue be Increased? Can expenses be reduced?
7. Where do I want to be in five years? In 10 years?
8. What are the expectations of other family members?
9. Do I have adequate acreage to expand the herd and manage the waste?
10. Do I want to deal with regulatory agencies?

Potential Problems that Come with Expansion

You may be well aware of the ways that expansion will solve some of your current problems, but you need to understand what new problems the expansion itself could bring with it. Here are some factors to put into your strategic problem-solving scenarios when expanding.

1. Detailed manure handling.
2. Siting to minimize odor conflicts
3. Detailed effort to hire qualified and experienced contractors. Have a project manager.
4. Prepare for loan or cost overruns. Expansion is dynamic. Costs rarely get smaller.
5. There could be disease introduction with the larger herd numbers.
6. Analyze all aspects of facility design and understand the potential for problems (curtains, sidewall ventilation, size, )
7. Make yourself aware of legal by-laws, zoning restrictions and environmental impact regulations.

The People Factor is Crucial

A dairy doesn’t exist in a vacuum.  Many people, both on and off the farm, will be affected by changes.  Make sure these areas receive consideration.

1. Consultants
   Surround yourself with a team of experts and listen to them.  Getting sound advice is the best investment you can make.  Having said that, do not blindly accept everything a consultant tells you.  After it is all done, it is your farm, not their’s, so the decisions need to make sense to you.

2. Employees
   After expansion, you will be a people manager, not a cow manager. Listen closely to the people who are closest to the day to day operation.  They usually have valuable observations.  Create safe and happy working conditions. The most valuable interaction you can have is in setting up SOP systems (Standard Operating Procedures). Other employee policies may need to be instituted.  Take management classes to learn how to manage people.

3. Neighbors and Community
   It is important to recognize the importance of neighbours, suppliers and members of the community, as they drive by and are affected by your dairy.  Your expanded operation will have an impact on the local economic community and local businesses. Be ready to have expanded outreach to those who may have concerns. Encourage neighbours to learn about your farm practices and be prepared to show how you give back to the community through the products you produce, the green spaces you maintain or the support you have for local youth, charities or projects.

4. Your Banker
   Financing is key to a well-developed dairy expansion plan. “Your banker will consider, not just the big picture, but also, the small details from working capital to long-term cash-flow assumptions, transition and construction-phase issues, contingencies and having a well-document plan. Any one of these items alone could slow down or disqualify your expansion.  Bankers will analyze everything in order to determine what is approvable and bankable.”

The Bullvine Bottom Line

Expanding a dairy farm does not necessarily mean that making everything bigger will make everything better. More land more cows more buildings all come with the potential for more problems. The reality check should be on making it “better” before actions are taken that make it “bigger”.  At the end of the dairy day, it means getting better at what we do and, in the process, making the dairy industry and our personal part of it a better place to produce milk products that are healthy and safe.

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