Decisions may be easy as whether or not to buy a low cost and unproven make of tractor or very difficult as whether or not to continue milking cows. Yes, the same decision that is easy for one dairy farmer may be very difficult for another. Regardless of the nature of the problem or difficulty of the decision, dairy farm managers are problem solvers and decision makers. They know where the buck stops. What is or is not a problem worth serious consideration and what to do about a particular problem should be affected by the dairy farm operator's goals.
Goals are statements of desired end results.
Unclear and confused goals are a major impediment to effective problem solving. To illustrate, doing custom combining for neighbors may reduce the fixed cost per acre of owning a combine because the combine is used on more acres. However, if an important goal is to increase the profitability of the dairy enterprise, the custom combining may not be a good idea. Likewise, if an important goal is to have time for family activities, custom combining may be more desirable than adding cows to the dairy herd. The accompanying worksheet is intended to encourage careful consideration of possible goals and then ranking goals by order of importance.