Guest Blog

My summers growing up were filled with showing my horse, dogs and a borrowed cow at county fairs, the state state fair and through local horse clubs. It was an opportunity for me to show off a year of hard work, along with making friendships and memories to last a lifetime. The same goes for many producers and youth involved in agriculture. 

Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of blogs Rebecca Shaw is providing about female entrepreneurs and what the dairy industry can learn from them.

One lesson that has changed the way I approach any situation is to stop saying sorry if I’m not actually sorry.

Springtime on the farm is always a wonderful season, as the earth comes alive again, and the old winter is finally behind us. It’s exciting getting out in the fields and working the land and putting the tiny seeds into the ground, anticipating a bountiful harvest later in the season.

I’m not going to sugarcoat it: How agriculture presents itself to the public needs to change. Personally, most people in ag follow more conservative values, and I’m one of them. But professionally, publicly, in the way we market our lives and our product, it’s time to let them go.

Celebrate June Dairy Month with these tried-and-true recipes, straight from the kitchens of real farmwomen and Progressive Dairyman staff members who use real dairy products as a staple ingredient. They arekid-tested and potluck-approved.

Did you sing the title of this article in your head? When we were outlining this article, the hit song inexplicably popped into our heads. Then we realized it was because it so accurately describes how dairy advocates are feeling right now.