Grab Ahold of technology

Grab ahold
of technology

If you plan and prepare for changing technology, it can be an opportunity rather than your worst nightmare

By David Grusenmeyer

What do tractors, milking machines, bulk tanks, fermented feeds, freestall housing and artificial insemination have in common? When they came on the dairy scene, more than one person thought each would doom the dairy industry.
Change can affect people in that way. It can frighten them into believing the worst. Given today’s rapid rate of change in most areas of our lives, some of us might be anxious all the time.
The lily pad riddle illustrates the increasing pace of change today. On day one a single lily pad floats in a large lake. Each day the number of lily pads doubles: two lily pads on the second day, four on the third day and so on. After 28 days the lake is one-quarter covered with lily pads.

Technological change, such as robotic milkers, is easier to deal with if you learn all you can about the technology, assess its role in your business and make a proactive decision about it.

How long before lily pads choke the lake? Just 48 hours – a mere two days. A pace that appeared slow and harmless suddenly accelerated exponentially.
Many of us feel change, like lily pads, grows out of control. Not to scare you, but experts say change that once took 10 years now occurs in one year.

Four facts about change
The better you are in helping others anticipate change, adapt to it and adjust, the smoother changes will be.
Jim Henion, director of consulting services for Genex Cooperative, offers these tips:
1. Most people don’t like change. When they’re pushed into it, they push back. Uncertainty, lack of control and not being heard create stress in times of change.
2. People need to know what’s causing change. Explain it to them.
3. Change is a process, not an event that happens and ends.
4. People react differently to change. Some don’t react at all, others grumble endlessly and still others see it as opportunity. When working with people in your business, you can do three things to help them cope with change:
•Listen to their concerns.
•Empathize with them, even when your opinion differs.
•Involve them in the process by asking for ideas and developing an action plan for them.

You are how you respond
    The exciting thing about change is it always leads to something different. Most changes offer opportunities to shift where we’re headed and how we accomplish our goals. For example, instead of dooming the industry, adopting the use of fermented feeds offers advantages in feed quality and feeding flexibility. Bulk tanks allow producers to ship a higher quality product. And A.I. can result in faster genetic progress.
    Whether change moves us ahead or chokes us like the lily pads in the lake depends upon our response to it. We can’t choose whether change happens, but we can choose how we respond.
    Jim Henion, director of consulting services for Genex Cooperative in Ithaca, N.Y., describes a three-phase process most people go through as they respond to change.
1. The beginning phase generally brings about a high level of uncertainty and pain.

2. The transition period is the time to let go of the old method, practice or position. Since each person reacts differently to change, the transition time varies.
3. The new beginning phase marks the point where a person embraces a change and moves ahead.

Accept the facts
Three proactive approaches create comfort with change.
1. To the extent we spend time thinking about the future and strategically planning for it, changes will seem slower and fewer.
2. To the extent we can make ourselves and those around us feel more involved with and in control of a change, it will seem more acceptable.
3. To the degree we have a positive attitude toward change in general, we increase our positive, enthusiastic, accepting response.
Here’s how these three guides work in a real-world example. All dairy producers know – or should know – that environmental regulations will require them to change and adopt different technology. What the changes will be and when they will be mandated rather than voluntary is debated. But they’re coming. Here’s what you can do:

Through reading, talking to knowledgeable people, attending meetings and thinking things through, you can probably project what changes might be required and when. Use this information to evaluate your farm and what you might need to do.
Even without the specifics, begin making a few changes in nutrient management, cropping programs, feeding and other areas based on your “best guesses.” Or tweak future plans such as for manure storage.
Evaluate each aspect of each new technology to see how it fits into your dairy.
When changes finally need to be made, your forethought and planning will make them seem smaller, fewer and slower in coming.
Take one more step. Get involved by providing input into regulations and talking with regulatory officials. You’ll feel better informed and more in control of your future.

Not all technologies will be right for your dairy. In fact, you may be better off avoiding some of them. To know the difference, assess the impact of the change and of your decision to accept or reject it on every aspect of your life and business.
Change is inevitable. We do, however, have choices on how we respond.