- “I’ll be done early tonight.” It never fails. I can get the cows started twenty minutes early or on time, and it’s like they hear me when I tell or text someone that line. Suddenly, a normal everyday milking turns into cows being out, cows coming down with illness, equipment failures, cows to breed, and so on and so forth. I have since learned to never utter that phrase to anyone.
- “I’m on the way.” I’m hardly ever on the way when someone gets a message from me with those words embedded in the text or call. Usually, I am trying to calculate if I can finish one last thing before I go from late to really late. Most of the time, I am already late when this message is sent to someone.
- “Next week, things will slow down”. Nope, nada, never. Things never slow down; there is no “break,” we are always running and trying to get a million things done, all while battling Mother Nature, the lowly milk check, bugs, and crops.
It never fails that as soon as one of these lines is said, a lie follows it. As farmers, we all know that life is crazy, hard, and overall tough. These three phrases are common phrases I have used on my own operation that I am sure others like me have as well. Overall, these three phrases are relatable, totally correct, and we say them even when we know we will dread the outcome. Our cows determine whether or not the above lies become reality or just another fantasy of a different life. Either way, the girls rule the world that we live in.
The author is a sixth-generation farmer and fifth-generation dairy producer in southwest Virginia, where she and her family own and operate a 145-head Holstein dairy. Courtney is involved in agriculture organizations throughout her community and is a graduate of Virginia Tech.