William Neville's 12 key questions

William Neville’s 12 key questions, shared at Agrihive’s meeting late last year, form a good basis for all to start discussions with dairy farmers on their strategy to survive periods of low milk prices:

Have you the mind-set to take control of your own destiny? Or do you feel bewildered and a hopeless victim of circumstances?
Is dairy farming right for you and your family? What are your plans for inheritance? Are you doing the right thing for your non-farming family members?
What will you need to invest in your facilities in the next 10 years? How will you fund it and justify it?
Do you REALLY know your cost of production?
What is the realistic future milk price? Are you looking at the evidence or living on hope?
Have you worked out whether you are producing what your milk purchaser really wants? ie Are you maximising your return under your milk contract?
What are you really paying yourself per hour? What can you afford to pay yourself and remain competitive? Would you be better off paying someone else and trying to add value to other parts of the business? What are your other skills? How much could you earn off farm part-time or full-time?
Might there be a day when you will find yourself stranded without a milk purchaser at all?
Are you buying all your inputs at best prices, and when did you last check alternatives?
Are you ruthlessly and honestly benchmarking your performance and constantly trying to identify ways to incrementally improve performance?
Have you got your eyes open for niche opportunities even if they start small?
Do you have the right skills for the technologically and market driven global dairy industry of the future?