Blogs

Recently, I was reminded the story of Helen Keller, who was 9 months old when she was stricken with the disease that left her both blind and deaf.

Words. When spoken, they have power but, when written down, they can change the trajectory of one’s future. During a recent farm visit, a dairyman told me about the words he wrote down 20 years ago and how they guided the vision for where he is today.

“My husband came in at lunch and told me the statistics on farmer suicide. He told me how hopeless he felt. I was scared to let him go back to the field.” 

“I am always so angry. I yell at the kids and throw things in the milkhouse. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” 

Editor’s note: This is the third in a series of blogs Rebecca Shaw is providing about female entrepreneurs and what the dairy industry can learn from them. In her next blog, Shaw will further explore the idea of a red team in the dairy industry.

I hate to sound like that old guy on a bench, drinking free coffee at the hardware store, but remember when things were simpler? The good ol’ days before social media, Uber and Double-Stuf Oreos.

Ask a dairy farmer how things are going, and I bet you’ll get a familiar answer: “We’re still holding on,” which is the polite way of saying “It’s really hard right now. We’re struggling to make ends meet. We don’t know how much longer we can do this, but we’re praying something changes soon.”