Guest Blog

If I had a dime for every time I heard, “He’s [or she’s] not a real farmer,” I would probably make more than I do currently milking cows. Actually, I don’t milk cows. I hate milking cows. In my opinion, I think it’s the most monotonous job on a dairy farm.

These are arguably the most difficult times in (dairy) farming history, with high costs and low market prices. The conversations and climate among dairy farmers and agriculturalists often reflect this. It can be disheartening, unsatisfying and, frankly, depressing. 

When you look online at articles, blogs and comments, it can feel like the whole world is against animal agriculture. Just this year, we have seen the EAT-Lancet Commission report and the Green New Deal.

Farm security is not always top of mind for producers, but unfortunately, it’s necessary to protect the safety of your animals, people on your property and your livelihood. Animal rights activists will go to great lengths to portray animal agriculture negatively, ranging from getting hired to record misleading videos to trespassing to holding large-scale protests at farms.

At the Dairy Strong conference on Jan. 23, award presenter Laurie Winkelman painted a picture of someone who invests money, time and resources into promoting dairy farming and bettering the community, even in ways that don’t seem to be related to dairy farming.

I am a dairy farmer who didn’t grow up on a farm, but I always had some desire to be around dairy cattle from exposure to my dad’s family farm as a small child. That seed planted in my heart as a kid led me to join FFA, and my friends who grew up on farms were pretty willing to let me tag along and help with chores from time to time. I learned so much from not only helping with chores, but also from their parents and grandparents.