Feel 'shot out of a cannon?' Take control

"It seems like he gets shot out of a cannon every morning, and then just starts running from that spot. He's a great vet, but he's just so busy it's hard to get him to do anything that's not an emergency."

I heard this quote last week from a producer, talking about his veterinarian.I have heard similar statements many other times.

It's no secret that there is currently a shortage of food animal producers.Despite warnings that the declining number of farms would take away ourlivelihood, most dairy practitioners that I know would like a little lesswork.

If you are busier than you want to be, yet do not think you can affordan associate, then raise your fees.

Either your workload will drop, or your income will rise. Either improvesyour situation.

Some practitioners are afraid that a fee increase will cause them tolose too much work, and then they will be lacking cash flow even as a solodoctor.

Create safeguards

The way to safeguard against this is to prepare yourself to offer additionalservices. These will be non-emergency type services, so that they are morecontrollable.

The place to start is with records review. Take some time to learn whatall the values on DHIA reports mean. (Remember: After you raise your fees,you are going to have more time, right?) Know how they are generated, andwhich ones are subject to producer and/or supervisor error.

In general, data on milk production and milk components is very accurate,information on breeding is usually correct, while the figures dealing withnutrition and finances is frequently wrong.

The degree of accuracy is directly related to the ease of getting properdata to the supervisor.

Let's play out the game plan so far.

I start with the assumption that you want to either earn more or workless. Raise your fees by 20 percent. I would not make any announcement ofthis fact. If you are not already doing it, begin using an hourly rate.

On your bills, list what you did and supply a dollar value for thoseservices. You derive that value by multiplying the time by your rate, butyou show the producer what you did for him. An example is provided in Table1, next page.

My prediction is that you will see not a drop-off in demand for yourservices, but you will see a jump in net income. Remember, none of yourexpenses go up with the fee increase, so any additional revenue is profit.

Letting go

What if you do lose some clients? Which ones are most likely to stopusing you after you raise fees? Will it be the ones where you have a goodrapport and enjoy going to their farm? Or, will it be the ones who are alwayscomplaining anyway? My experience is that those who appreciate you the leastwill be the first to switch.

It may leave you with fewer clients, but those clients who remain, thinkyou are worth the higher rate.

Fewer clients should mean fewer emergency calls, and, my guess is, thatis exactly the type of work you wanted reduced. So far, so good.

You now have a smaller client base, made up of producers who appreciateyou. You have more time. Now you can begin offering the record review aspart of your monthly herd check. This is billable time.

Simply add "DHIA review" to the list of services on your invoice.

Review those records

Reviewing records usually leads to other billable work, especially ifyou are prepared to offer production medicine services. If you note thatcows peak poorly, you can review transition cow nutrition, bunk space andthe early lactation diet.

If you see that heifers milk below goal, then you can direct more timethere. High somatic cell counts lead to a milking time visit. All of thisis billable time.

You have no need to fear raising fees if you are prepared to offer thesetypes of services. If you are not prepared, the American Association ofBovine Practitioners offers seminars in all of these disciplines, as wellas many other meetings. Internet courses are becoming available as well.

No rest

Let's return now to the other scenario, where you raise fees but seeno decrease in work load. This is the more likely event.

The benefit here is that your cash flow improves to the point that hiringan associate is feasible.

Find the person who seems right, and then offer him or her more thanthe going rate. Share emergency duties equally, and offer a perk or twoto make your position attractive.

Maybe a new laptop will swing the person you want to come with you. My point is to do all you can to get the person you want. This will be paramountto a successful future.

The take home lesson in all of this is that you do not have to be "shotout of a cannon" each morning, and then controlled by the demands ofyour clients.

Use your right to set your own fees as the tool to either increase incomeor reduce your workload. In the unlikely event you see a real drop, be preparedto offer new services. You won't regret it.

Dr. Gardner is director of animal health and herd economics at KeystoneAgway. He also consults with dairy practitioners on practice management.