Hoof Clips Newsletter
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Balancing farm chores and hoof care while staying on track.
In my last Hoof Clips newsletter, I wrote one paragraph about the farmer doing lame cows themselves or even tackling the entire herd. In case you missed it, here is a link to that article: Navigating the Changing Landscape of Hoof Trimming.
Today, I would like to offer some tips on how you can manage your time well around the farm—especially when it comes to hoof care. One of the most common complaints I hear from farmers is that they don’t have enough time to get everything done. This is especially true when it comes to hoof care. It’s not uncommon for me to hear a farmer say, “I just don’t have time to trim my cows’ hooves.”
Effective Time Management for Better Hoof Care
We all have busy schedules, and it’s common to wonder how we can manage to get everything done. Effective time management is crucial to implement our routines consistently. As a farmer, it’s essential to manage daily chores along with your herd’s hoof care plan. Let me share with you a few tips that can help you achieve this.
Reviewing Your Priorities
First, record and evaluate all your chores—both daily and seasonal. This will help you identify those tasks that consume most of your time. Then, determine your primary goals for the day or week: hoof care treatment for both healthy and lame cows should be on this list!
(I’m perhaps biased to mention hoof care – if you chose to outsource, that is totally fine too)
Important vs. Urgent
Differentiate between important and urgent tasks. For example, regular herd health visits are more important than painting the barn door. Maintaining the hoof health of your herd falls into the important tasks category, as it prevents a situation where you urgently have to treat lame cows.
Delegation and Scheduling
It is important to create a schedule for your farm tasks and know when it’s best to delegate some of them. You cannot do all the simple tasks yourself, such as mowing the lawn or cleaning the calf pens. Assigning these tasks to a farmhand can give you more time to focus on high-level professional tasks like treating lameness, general hoof trimming, or breeding the cows. These tasks are crucial for the success of your operation. Luckily, you can use milking robots and other tools to automate or delegate and free up some of your precious time.
Time as a Resource
Remember, your time is a limited resource. Some tasks will always have to be prioritized over others. By effectively managing your time, you can ensure that all crucial tasks – like hoof trimming – are taken care of without causing additional stress. This will not only contribute to a healthier herd but also improve overall productivity and profitability.
Pressed to the limit?
Farming can be a stressful job, and it often feels like you’re on call 24/7. When this stress becomes overwhelming, please reach out to someone—what about your veterinarian or hoof trimmer?—and share your burdens with them.
If you have a neighbor, a boy or girl, who would like to make some money by doing little jobs around the yard, such as mowing the lawn or general cleanup, would this be helpful for both of you?
A few years ago, I wrote a blog post about ‘Seven Tips for the Best Time Management’. If you’re interested in learning more about how to manage your time effectively, check it out!
I am looking forward to hearing about the improvements you make in your time management and how they benefit you. Needless to say, I would also like to know if gaining control of your schedule has helped with hoof health management!
Until next time,
Koos