The squeeze on dairy profitability has been getting tighter and the length of this downturn is exhausting both the financial and emotional state of many farms. “What can I do?” is a common question. A key I have seen in my 40+ years in the industry is that basics are the foundation of the farm profit. In spite of the technological advances in computers, GMO’s. drones, etc, the basics mattered yesterday and they still do today. Highly digestible alfalfa is not a help if you have not soil tested all the fields you work, nor applied any lime in several years.