The Center for Dairy Excellence is offering a three-part webinar series on Wednesdays in July for dairy producers and consultants who are looking to enhance family dynamics on the farm and navigate the “people side” of the business.

The continuing education series, “Building the Bridge: The People Side of Dairying,” will take place July 8, 15 and 22 from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. Access to the entire three-part series is free, but attendees must preregister.

The webinars will feature speakers with experience in conflict management and working with dairy teams. Attendees will also hear from a panel of Pennsylvania dairy producers who will describe how a team approach helps provide a fresh perspective and identifies bottlenecks on the farm.

“Many dairy farm families will tell you that working with family is rewarding but can also be challenging,” says Jayne Sebright, executive director of the Center for Dairy Excellence. “In this webinar series, dairy producers and dairy consultants will take a close look at the people side of dairy farming and develop the soft skills they need to improve communication on the farm, resolve conflicts, make difficult decisions and navigate changes as team.”

The webinar schedule includes:

July 8. “Working with Family” with Rob Skacel. Understand the differences in working with family and learn how to navigate difficult discussions to help resolve conflicts and strengthen family dynamics.

July 15. “Dealing with Change” with Charles Gardner. Hear about the different types of people who could be on dairy farm teams, discuss the common resistance to make changes and how to manage team discussions around change.

July 22. “Using a Team” with dairy producers Jeremy Tanner, Andy Bollinger and Matt Bomgardner. Learn how a team can provide a broader perspective and help navigate difficult decisions and bottlenecks on the farm.

Skacel, a licensed psychologist with senior executive experience at True Edge Performance Solutions, will discuss conflict resolution and navigating family farm dynamics. Skacel has held senior leadership positions in sizeable for-profit and nonprofit organizations where his responsibilities have focused on performance improvement and organizational development.

Gardner will help facilitators understand change management. He currently works with the Center for Dairy Excellence to help producers transition assets and other aspects of herd management. Throughout his career, Gardner has served as director of the Agway TSPF Heifer Program and worked at Cargill Animal Nutrition to improve animal and financial performance.

Tanner of Tanner Brothers Dairy, Bollinger of Meadow Spring Farm and Bomgardner of Blue Mountain View Farm will talk about their perspectives as dairy farmers and describe how a team approach to decision making helped them make important business decisions.

Preregister for the webinar online to secure your seat. You will receive the access code for the entire series after registration.

Source: Pennsylvania Center for Dairy Excellence, which is solely responsible for the information provided and is wholly owned by the source. Informa Business Media and all its subsidiaries are not responsible for any of the content contained in this information asset.