I grew up in a rural town surrounded by family and friends who dairy farmed. My dad worked in the industry, and we kept a few cows with my Aunt and Uncle’s herd down the road. When I was young, we brought back our calves to our house, and I raised them along with my siblings. From a young age I fell in love with dairy and intended on becoming a veterinarian, about 12 years later I discovered a slightly different path while at college studying animal science at Cornell University and 9 years after my graduation from college I now work in dairy cattle husbandry and welfare. I work for Novus International as a COWS Technical Specialist. Our program provides a full-farm approach to identify bottlenecks on the dairy farm, mainly focused on collecting data concerning dairy welfare and comfort. The goal is to help provide farmers with tools and knowledge to improve the lives of their animals. Taking better care of cows leads to more milk, better components, improved longevity, improved environmental impact, the list goes on. Comfy, happy cows make more milk! It is incredibly meaningful to positively impact the lives of dairy farmers and their dairy cattle; I am grateful to be able to do what I do.
Growing up surrounded by agriculture and now engaged to a dairy farmer, I have such a deep appreciation for the family history, hard work and passion that goes into raising cows and producing milk. We are incredibly lucky to do what we do and to have the ability to witness life being created every day as new calves are born and then take on the responsibility of caring for that animal her whole life, although challenging it is also very rewarding. For myself, I love that with my role I can bring value to the table to help farmers improve care for their cattle.
I love what I do because caring for animals and people is what I am passionate about and it is what most dairy farmers are passionate about as well. I wish people could see the side of dairy farming that we do. Last night my fiancé Mark was called to the dairy at 1am for a cow that was in labor. He came home slept for a little then woke up to go to the farm to meet their veterinarian for herd check this morning. He never complains when he has to leave a family event or gets woken up in the middle of the night, when I say sorry that’s a bummer he replies, “Don’t say sorry, this is just part of it.” This attitude is not rare among dairy farmers and the constant care, worry, and pride farmers have for caring for their animals and their people is inspiring and I am so proud and grateful to be part of this wonderful industry. We are lucky to have arguably the largest selection of dairy products in the world, that we can trust as safe and nutritious, and I fear we sometimes take that for granted. Enjoy your ice cream, drink your milk, eat your cheese, and know that not too far away the farmer that likely produced that milk is caring for and loving on their cows!
