Guest Blog

Being a goal-oriented person has never been a “thing” I would normally associate myself with. This was something I acquired recently in my life. I am a full-time farmer, a mother and a part-time gelato maker.

In June 2017, we embarked on what was going to be a roller-coaster ride for the next 16 months. It was that summer we went on our first tour of robotic milking barns. We had started on the journey to modernize our dairy. I want to share with you some of the things we learned.

As dairy farmers, I know we wear many hats, not just on the farm but off the farm as well. So why is it every time someone asks us to do something, we immediately volunteer?

Rest is both a noun and a verb according to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary. A bodily state characterized by minimal function and metabolic activities and peace of mind or spirit are a couple of the definitions you will find for rest as a noun.

There’s no doubt the dairy industry is in challenging times. Low milk prices, changing consumer preferences, devastating weather conditions and an ever-changing political environment has resulted in much uncertainty throughout the industry.

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.