Dairying is a set of tasks that when looked at individually, seem very simple but when put in the context of time and delivery they can be overwhelming. The dairyman who can orchestrate these tasks could run a Fortune 500 company. It is the timing anddelivery of these tasks that separate the good dairyman from the excellent dairyman. Take the simple task of checking a dry cow with her tail up in the air. A gloved exam of the birth canal finds a calf presented with a front leg back. Simply bringing the leg to the correct position allows the live birth to take place and a new lactation to start well. But if it takes more than one person to examine the cow, the task may be postponed until another person is freed up to help catch her. With time passingthe fixing of the position is still simple but too late and the calf may be born dead, the cow may not clean, putting a complete lactation at risk. And if too much time passes (days) the dead calf swells and puts both the lactation and the cow's life in jeopardy.
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