A36-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 14,2003
What Makes A Good Consultant?
ANDY ANDREWS
Editor
MYERSTOWN (Lebanon Co.)
What are the hallmarks of a
good consultant?
First and foremost, according
to one expert: a good consultant
“is really good at asking ques
tions,” said Jack Murray, who
with Suzanne manages the
Knockroe Group, Inc., Hughes
ville.
Murray spoke last week during
the first of the two-day 2003 Gal
axy Conference, a professional
development school for agricul
ture extension agents conducted
at the Lantern Lodge in Myers
town.
Murray, who spoke to about
130 agents registered for the
Penn State-sponsored event,
noted that consultants also have
to be “thinking people” and ask
themselves, he said, “who am I
talking to? Where are they com
ing from? What is going on in
their world? And what is compet
ing for their attention?”
Consultants cannot simply
have the answer in their heads
before they even have a chance to
know all the implications of the
work being done for whom they
are consulting with. “You have to
understand who it is you’re deal
ing with,” Murray said.
What defines a good consul
tant?
According to Murray, it’s the
customer’s opinion that counts.
And only that. “It’s not what you
think, but what the customer de
fines as good,” said Murray.
Companies that have faded to
listen well have spelled their own
doom. He gave three examples of
failure by companies that jumped
too soon on product promotion
without knowing exactly what
they were doing:
• During a major product
promotion for curling irons in
Germany, advertising was tar
geted for a special hair “mister.”
After the third day, the promo
tion was a bust. Why? Because in
German slang, “mist” means
“manure.”
• Gerber Company promoted
its baby food using its trade
marked cute baby on the bottle
label. They promoted this in Afri
ca. The only problem: in rural Af
rica, many natives can’t read.
They determine what’s in the
bottle by its label. So to them, a
“squished baby,” noted Murray,
just didn’t sell.
• At one time, a company
promoted T-shirts with a portrait
of the Pope in Spanish. The slo
gan, “I saw the Pope,” was prom
inent on the yellow T-shirts. In
Spanish, the correct wording
would have been “L’Papa.” How
ever, the T-shirt read “La Papa,”
or “the potato.” “They did not
sell,” said Murray.
“It pays to take the time out
front to determine what to do,”
Murray noted.
Murray outlined several behav
iors on the part of customers
across many industries:
• They resist change more out
of a fear of the future than a love
of the past. There are too many
unknowns.
• By focusing on the “unique
ness of their needs,” consultants
can ring in success. The consul
tant can’t simply give the same
old talk to different groups.
• Deliver the truth, even if it
doesn’t seem appropriate at the
time. “You have to stay focused,”
noted Murray.
• You don’t have to solve
every problem. Some are best left
ignored. “Some fires are meant to
burn,” Murray said.
• Strive for behavior change.
Just presenting information does
not guarantee behavior change.
Ask This Guy
Speakers at the Galaxy Conference last week in Myers
town included, from left, Peg Shuffstall, Penn State;
Daney Jackson, associate dean, Penn State College of
Ag; Kim Evancho; and T. David Filson, south central re
gional director, Penn State. Photo by Andy Andrews, editor
Using correct “tact” can create a
big impact.
• Use true diplomacy. That in
volves the ability to tell others
things “they don’t want to hear
in such a way that they want to
listen,” said Murray.
• The good, successful consul
tant will be rewarded not by what
they know, but that the customer
“knows how much you care,” he
said.
• Be prepared and on time.
Get people’s names right. Call
ahead if you’re going to be late.
And call them back to follow up.
• Don’t label. Early labels are
“particularly risky,” Murray said.
Some people are “hammer peo
ple” who see every problem as a
“nail.”
Murray used the following
“gardening metaphors.”
• Well-prepared soil. The co
rollary: prepare before planting
the ideas in the customer’s mind.
• Don’t be hasty. Timing is
critical. The best seed can be
killed off in a late frost. Don’t
broadcast your ideals until the
moment is right for germination.
• Excess feed doesn’t help a
plant. Corollary: don’t push ideas
too hard too early, and don’t
oversell.
• Despite best efforts, some of
our plants are going to die. Co
rollary: in spite of the best efforts,
learn to live with failure. Don’t
take it personally. “You will get
ulcers, or much worse,” Murray
noted.
Murray delivered a famous
baseball quote that it is more im
portant to have “one thought de
livered home than have three left
on base.”
Murray provided the ultimate
definition of a successful consul
tant: “they invite you back,” he
said.
The company name, Knock
roe, denotes the area in Ireland
the Murray family emigrated
from in the 1800 s, noted Murray.
The location is in the southeast
County Carlow, and is a word in
Anglicized Gaelic, also called
Cnoc Rua, or “the red hill.” With
oak trees, the area in Hughesville
looks like a “red hill” in the fall,
noted Murray.
Also at the conference, Daney
Jackson, associate dean, Penn
State College of Ag Sciences,
noted that Penn State stands out
in its efforts to actually measure
the results of extension work.
As for an administrative up
date, a lot depends on what hap
pens at the state level, where the
college receives funding. “It’s the
strangest year I’ve ever been
through, and others say the
same,” Jackson noted. “It’s a
strange political year in Pennsyl
vania.”
Jackson pointed out the in
creasing diversity of the U.S.
population, with Hispanic Ameri
cans replacing African Ameri
cans as the largest minority. And
there is increasing concentration
on what is happening on a global,
rather than state or country,
economy.
Extension and the College of
Ag Sciences are going through a
period of knowledge integration
to develop skills for all in the
“scholarship of discovery.” If ev
erybody truly appreciated the
benefits of extension, quoting an
Ohio State educator, “we would
not have budget problems,” Jack
son noted.
Jackson said that the college
has experienced a 22 percent in
crease in gifting over 2002, one of
a number of critical areas helping
budget the university.
In 2005, Penn State will help
host the National Association of
Ag Agents meeting. They are
looking to generate $60,000 in
donations to cover costs.
Sept. 21-25 this year, at Galaxy
II at the Sait Palace Convention
Center in Salt Lake City, Utah,
will be the 75th anniversary cele
bration of the ag agent profes
sional organization, Epsilon
Sigma Phi (ESP), according to
Fay Strickler, Berks County. A
donation of $74 or more per
member will help to reach the
goal of $500,000 toward the ESP
Development Fund. About
$l,OOO was donated by the Berks
County Extension Family Living
Advisory Committee, Strickler
noted. Those who donate at least
$75 receive a pin in recognition.
T. David Filson, emergency
coordinator for Penn State exten
sion and regional director of the
south central district of exten
sion, spoke about extension’s role
in homeland security.
Filson spoke about “The Dis
aster Handbook: 1998 National
Edition” published by the Uni
versity of Florida Extension Sys
tem, of which every county exten
sion office is familiar with.
Filson spoke about the online
survey conducted from mid-
March to mid-April this year in
volving 102 agents regarding the
importance of homeland security
in agriculture.
Of the respondents, 67 percent
believed there was some likeli
hood of an attack by terrorists in
the U.S. Eighty-one percent of
the respondents believed cooper
ative extension should be involv
ed in emergency planning. And
91 percent believed food and ag
interests should be protected.
Of the respondents, 72 percent
believed that food protection was
the topic of greatest concern.
Filson noted that Penn State
would soon have its Website re
vised on disaster response plans
with results of the survey at
www.cas.psu.edu.
Penn State Cooperative Extension
Capitol Region Dairy Team
HEAT STRESS
ON DAIRY COWS
Philip E. Wagner
Extension Agent Dairy
Franklin County
After several days of warm
weather, the subject of heat stress
on lactating dairy cows comes to
the forefront once again.
Heat stress affects two of the
most economically important
segments of the dairy farm busi
ness milk production and re
production. Milk yield can be re
duced by 3 percent to 20 percent
or more. Conception can go as
low as 0 percent in extreme cases.
Feed intake can be reduced by 8
percent to 12 percent or more.
This all translates into many lost
dollars to the dairy business.
In simple terms, heat stress oc
curs when the cow’s heat load is
greater than her capacity to lose
heat. Heat load is made up of her
own body heat production plus
environmental heat which in
cludes air temperature, relative
humidity, air movement, and
solar radiation.
Cows react to heat stress in
various ways. They will generally
seek out shade, reduce feed in
take, increase water intake, and
staqd rather than lie down. Res
piration rate increases, rectal
temperatures increase, and
sweating increases. These meth
ods allow the cow to reduce her
own heat production and to
transfer heat more easily to the
environment.
Along with reduced feed in
take, heat-stressed cows have a
lower rate of feed passage and
gut motility. Rumen fermenta
tion characteristics change. Total
volatile fatty acid (VFA) produc
tion is decreased. VFAs are the
end product of carbohydrate mi
crobial fermentation. Under nor
mal circumstances, VFAs can
provide up to 80 percent of the
cow’s energy needs. When VFA
production is reduced, milk yield
will suffer.
Heat stress increases mainte
nance requirements, which leads
to decreased feed efficiency.
Panting can increase a cow’s
maintenance requirements by 20
percent. Heat stress has little ef
fect on milk protein percentage.
However, butterfat percentage is
usually reduced because of a de
crease in fiber intake.
As mentioned earlier, heat
stress has a negative effect on re
production. Heat stress may
damage the ovum, sperm, or em
bryo. There may also be an indi
rect effect on the uterine environ
ment caused by changing levels
of hormones. Heat detection is
more difficult in heat stressed
cattle because they become much
less active.
The estrus period in heat
stressed cows is 5-6 hours shorter
than in cows under cool condi
tions. Early embryonic mortality
is a major problem associated
with heat stress. It appears that
the majority of this embryonic
mortality occurs within the first
7-10 days after conception.
The optimum temperature for
milk production is in the range of
25-65 degrees Fahrenheit (F).
However, it is temperature and
humidity that determine the
Philip E. Wagner
stress level on the cow. Research
ers at the University of Arizona
developed the Temperature Hu
midity Index (THI), which is a
combination of temperature and
humidity. THI above 72 is
usually considered the point at
which heal stress occurs. As an
example, the THI at 90 degrees F
and 60 percent relative humidity
is 83. This falls in the category
betweeb mild and severe stress.
Evaporative cooling systems
should be the last step in a pro
gram to prqvide heat stress relief
for cows. First and foremost are
to cover the basics. The acronym
SAW can help you remember the
three basic but important points
about hot weather cow care:
• Shade is important to pro
tect animals from intense sum
mer sunshine. Cows are great
solar collectors. Natural shade,
an artificial shade structure, or a
well ventilated bam are all suit
able.
• Air flow and air exchange
are both necessary to increase the
rate at which cows can remove
heat from their bodies and to as
sure the cow has fresh air to
breathe for internal cooling. High
wide and open bams exposed to
breezes, circulating fans inside
bams, and tunnel ventilation are
all methods of increasing air ex
change (fresh air) and air velocity
over cows.
• Water and plenty of it for
drinking will provide the cow
with additional water to evapo
rate and thus increase heat re
moval from her body. The cow
will utilize water first to help cool
herself through respiration mois
ture and sweating. Any water left
over will go for milk production.
Extra water locations, high ca
pacity water lines and valves, and
an adequate water supply are
necessary to supply the addition
al water needed during hot
weather.
As dairy cows are bred, fed,
and managed for increasing lev
els of milk production, heat stress
reduction management practices
become a very profit-enhancing
investment.
We are asking cows to produce
80-100 pounds of milk per day.
Let’s be sure to do our part to
help relieve the stress because of
heat. Take care of the basics first:
shade, air flow/air exchange, and
water. Then move on to evapora
tive cooling systems.