Overview
As ownership transitions to the next generation of dairy producers, it is imperative these leaders have the skills and abilities to continue the tradition of the dairy farm. This leadership program will provide you the tools needed to gain leadership skills to build an effective, impactful dairy team for your farm to be sustainable, successful and innovative.

The Need
This leadership academy will address the unique needs of dairy leaders through custom training and coaching to provide and build leadership skills for young dairy producers. There will be in-depth, interactive workshops to address the real world challenges faced by leaders today with training topics identified to help refine leadership skills and build business acumen. Leadership coaching, held between leadership sessions, is designed to support the specific leadership goals of each individual while developing a leadership skill set. This program applies to dairy farm leaders, upper management and employees of all levels. We also strongly encourage spouses to participate in this program.

The Plan
This leadership academy will focus on eight areas.

• Goal setting
• Coaching for performance improvement
• Managing operational costs
• Creating strategic plans
• Employee recruitment and retention
• Managing conflict
• Evaluating financial statements
• Cultural development


Participants in the Leadership Academy will convene to focus on one leadership topic for one day. At the end of the day, participants and their spouse will enjoy an evening activity or social.

In addition to the in-person sessions, participants will be divided into coaching groups. Coaching groups will “meet” online between face-to-face sessions. The objective with coaching groups is to hold each other accountable, discuss the leadership topics, and learn from fellow producers how they are implementing new ideas on the farm.

Outcomes
• Producers will increase their leadership skills and abilities for utilization both on and off the farm
• Dairy producers will expand their network of connections with fellow dairy producers
• Dairy producers will build a team culture on the farm to improve employee retention
• Dairy producers will have an increased knowledge of finances and budgeting for financial planning, sustainability, profitability
• Dairy producers will utilize their leadership skills to serve on organizations including dairy checkoff organizations
Who Should Attend?
Dairy owners, managers, herdsmen, spouses

We highly encourage anyone in a leadership role on the farm to attend. Spouses are also encouraged to attend to expand and grow their network of fellow dairy producers and spouses. We believe part of building leadership is engaging the spouses and providing time for networking with peers and others.

This program will be capped at 25 next generation dairy leaders to provide a hands-on learning experience.