On a Serious Note

The American Dairy Farmers are some of the hardest working individuals that there are. Most farmers are not in business for the money, glory, or bragging rights. They are in the business because they have heart and guts.It's because of having the heart and the guts that Dairy Farmers are still in this industry, even with commodities rising and milk prices not meeting them.
In one of my college classes I have heard a catchy saying, that comes to mind when I think about many multi-generational farms. "The first generation builds it, the second generation uses it, and the third generation loses it." When you are the third generation, like myself, you have that constant fear in the back of your mind that you're going to be the generation that loses that beloved "member of the family." Member of the Family? That's right, most farmers are married to the farm. If you really think about it the relationship between a farmer and their farm is much like a husband and wife. Signing the partnership/LLC papers for the farm is like signing a marriage license; your vows "to have and to hold from this day forward as long as you both shall live," that's what gets you up in the morning. But that almighty line "Til Death Do Us Part," is the ultimate kicker, it's really when most farmers leave the farm, because of death of the farmer or "death" of the farm.
My mother is always one to find articles in various farm magazines that have little pick-me-up tips and helpful hints as well. One clipping in particular has been on our fridge for about 4 years. She found it in the Dairy Herd Management Magazine. The title is "Prevent Burnout"and it gave tips of how to not get discouraged and to the breaking point with your business. These tips I found to really "hit home,"

1. Take a one-day rest cure. Step away from the business and slow down life by spending time with family, friends, and away from the business.
2. Balance business and work. If work is all-consuming, it's wise to step back and create a life play that addresses four key questions? What do I want out of life? How can the business help me accomplish that? What does the business need to look like? How do I get it to look like that?
3. Don't let your business schedule ruin your personal life. Instead of allowing your business calender to continually encroach upon your personal life, give yourself some comp time.
4. Realize the business won't go to "heck in a handbag" if you're gone for a day or two. While you are a valuable part of the business, you are not the entire business-and other employees or relief help might appreciate the responsibility role assigned to them in your absence.

I feel as though tips really do help farmers to focus and realize they do have options. Whenever I'm discouraged and begin to forget, I always come home and find on the fridge the "Prevent Burnout" clipping and I take time to think. I think about how important the farm and the animals are to me and I think about how my life would be so much different. A different that I don't even want to imagine.

Prevent Burnout. (2006). Dairy Herd Management , p. 1.

You might be a Farmer if...

When I was younger I always loved when October rolled around, because that meant free banquet dinners for the farm. I will always remember one Farm Bureau Annual Meeting. Each year they would always have a guest speaker, this time was Joe Peck. Mr. Peck is a dairy farmer, as well as a humorous speaker. That year he had published a book and was there to promote it, as well as lift up the spirits of the farmers in the audience. Afterall, a little bit of humor is good for you. The stories he told that night and the stories that are in his book, "A Cow in the Pool," are ones that never get old. I believe I have read his book more than a dozen times and always find a different story I can relate to. In his book, one of the sections is "You might be a Farmer if...", I thought I would share some of my favorites, as well as a list of how to tell real farmers.

You Might be a Farmer if...

• You can get a good night's sleep in 20 minutes
• On your honeymoon, you stopped at every farm machinery dealer you passed
• Your idea of a romantic date is a free dinner at the co-op annual meeting
• You know how to pull a calf, but can't change a diaper
• There is more oil on your coveralls than in your car
• You can fix anything with baler twine, a jackknife and duct tape
• And my favorite.. you wear your barn clothes to the supermarket just so everyone will let you through the checkout line first. 

Real Farmers...

• Don't jog, you see them running, they probably stepped on a hornet's nest
• Never walk in the rain, but they do drive tractors in the rain, snow and bitter cold
• They don't drink diet soda or 2% milk or eat tofu
• Don't flinch when they snap on jumper cables
• Have no respect for mailmen who are late, milk truck drivers who are early and milk inspectors who are on time
• Hate power failures at chore time, salesmen at mealtime, and nosy neighbors who ask, "just how much did that cost?"
• And the ultimate reason.. Real farmers are driven by a deep sense of pride in everything they do and the blind hope that next year will be better than this year has been so far.

It's always good to find some humor in a gloomy situation. Farmers have had a few rough years, no shock to anyone, but it does not mean we give up. By seeing the light in every situation and knowing how farmers really are unique, makes things a lot better.


For more from Joe Peck, I encourage anyone to read his book.

Peck, J. (2001). A Cow in the Pool & Udder Humorous Farm Stories. Saratoga Springs: Peckhaven Publishing.

Farm Family Friction

When it comes to Farm Families it is hard to tell the difference where the farm ends and the family begins. This often creates tensions, lack of communication and makes tough times even worse. Even the smallest decision impacts the farm and the family because they are so intertwined. Growing up on a family farm, I have felt these pressures and seen the effects of economic difficulties. I found an article at the Washington State University website that gave some tips on how farm families can cope with stress and not have it affect family relationships.

In any other line of work, it is a lot easier to leave the stress and headaches of work behind. But when your a farm family, your stress from work carries on into the house. In many farm families, the most difficult tasks of the days aren't getting the chores done, it's communicating to your family what you really want, what your goals are, and how you want to get through the day. My family, like many other farm families, has problems with communication and expressing our actual feelings. We experience the ups and downs of the milk prices and I have figured that our good and bad times, moods, communication, etc are up and down like the milk prices.

Farm Families sometimes take for granted the family part. Here are some tips I found in the article that could be useful to farm families on how to keep the family relationships healthy.

• Keep communication open and clear.
• Share farm, parenting, and home responsibilities.
• Find constructive ways to deal with anger.
• Do something fun with family and friends on a regular basis.
• Remain active in social, school and community activities. 

Farm Families are unique in that they work together, live together, eat together, and never really have their own time. I believe everyone needs their own niche to get away and be their own people. The farm is a major part of many families lives, but it shouldn't be their whole lives.

Here's where I found the article:

Diede, A. (2000, January). The Farm-Family Connection. Retrieved February 8, 2011, from Washington State University Cooperative Extension: http://www.ffsn.wsu.edu/documents/Farm-Family-Connection.pdf

For Your Safety...

In November, the United States Senate passed a legislation to update food safety regulations, for the first time since 1930's. Why did it take so long to update food safety regulations? In an article I found related to the updated regulations, it said that 1 in 4 people have food illnesses a year. This results in about 5000 deaths per year!! That means 5000 people have died a year because of unsafe food! That is scary stuff. When ever anyone tells you that you have a 1 in 4 chance of something, those are pretty good odds. So the odds are high that you too can become a victim of food related illnesses.

In the legislation there is a section that is new, it sets standards on import foods. Why wasn't that set before? In my thoughts, that means the food we are importing are more likely to be contaminated than the foods we are exporting. Isn't it suppose to be you take care of yourselves and family before you take care of others? So much of our food supply relies on imports so why isn't our nation focused on ourselves first? In order for food to enter our country it should meet the same standards or better than the foods we are sending out.

I do have to say, by implementing the new food safety laws, farmers will have to be inspected more and our own food will be inspected closer. But everyone will be more at ease consuming that hamburger or tomato. Dairy producers are going the have stricter regulations when it comes to their milk being shipped as well. When it comes to dairy, the US was actually behind the rest of the nations in their regulations of somatic cell count. But with the new regulations we are comparable, which can increase our export market for that.

I personally am glad that this new legislation has been passed. It seemed like we were constantly hear about various food recalls.  With this legislation I know that I can eat my peanut butter and jelly sandwich with more ease.

Here is where I found my information.

Layton, L. (2010 , November 30). Senate Passes Sweeping Food Safety Bill. Retrieved February 2, 2011, from The Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/29/AR2010112903881.html

Agriculture Education

I know, I know, "Oh great, here's yet another opinion piece on the effects for Cornell cutting their Ag Education curriculum." Nope, not this time. This time the title means something different. The importance of agriculture education to the future of the dairy industry. No, I'm not talking about the kind of agriculture education that involves someone with their Master's teaching to young agriculture enthusiasts. I'm talking about educating your neighbors, your friends, the general public on what goes on behind those barn doors. It is our jobs as dairy producers to educate those who are uninformed about what it really means to be a dairy producer.

When I was in High School, it was not uncommon for someone to wrinkle their nose when they heard I was a farmer. People still imagine the grungy guy with a pitchfork and overalls, when they hear any mention of farmers. It was never uncommon for a classmate to ask, "If you're a farmer, where's your overalls?" In my opinion dairy producers have done a good job of changing that misconception. But now it's time to focus on something else, educating your neighbors on what it really means to be that farmer. Many farms are thought to be the pillar to their communities, but some community members really do not know what goes on behind those barn doors and the media does not always help.

The media is not always dairy producer friendly. They do not really help in informing the public on what REALLY goes on behind the barn doors. Animal welfare is the first area that pops into my head when you think of the media. So if we want to make any improvements on how the public feels we treat our animals, we really do need to get the media on our side. There are two sides to every story and oftentimes, the side that gets published, is the side of the story that will bring about the most controversy. The media is out to find that next big story. they don't really care that 99.9% of the dairy industry got up this morning and did their daily routine without causing any harm to animals. The media is just concerned with that 0.1% that will bring about talk and interest. The problem with any industry really is how it is portrayed in the media. If you think about it, celebrities are more talked about when they are involve with scandals, in and out of jail/rehab, or have died. Very seldom do you hear about the celebrities and their charity work or how their participation in the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Dairy industry is no different.

The constant negative media has not been good on the dairy industry. Not only has it lowered the morale of many, it has made so many producers really question whether it is worth staying in business. There have been more tears shed from farmers in the past year than I have ever heard. So many farmers are feeling the pressures that stricter regulations will entail. The media is really not helping with farmers morale at all. They want to sell stories, we want to have a good name again.

My solution... invite the media out to your farm. Ask them to help you with chores, help milk the cows, and show them what it really is like. After a little hard work, it's hard to disagree with what the farmers are always saying. The dairy industry is not like any other industry. It's not a job or a career, it's a livelihood. Close down a car dealership and the owner can go next door and work at another. You take the farm and animals away from the farmer and they are left with nothing. It takes a love and passion to be in the dairy industry. A love and passion that really needs to be portrayed to your neighbors.

It is time we take a stand, we need to start fighting for our good name back. Farmers are the backbone of the nation. And we need everyone to realize this. One person at a time, share your story, one person at a time. Educate your friends, your neighbors, your car salesmen on what really goes on behind those barn doors. We can make a difference. It is our future.