My daughter, Caitlin, decided to return to the farm after graduating with a degree in diversified agriculture to manage our herd health and reproduction programs. In other words, she wanted to take over part of my job.

We are a lot alike and that sometimes can lead to conflict. A lot of the time I am trying to get her to trust, without questioning, that what I am asking her to do is correct. All the while she is asking why . . . and wants to try a new way of doing the task differently than the way I explained to her. It's these same scenarios that happen on other multigenerational dairy farms. Let's consider each person's unique perspective.

Caitlin: I want to improve a fairly successful program.

Mark: I just want her to first learn what has worked well. I try and keep her grounded with proven protocols and programs that are successful, but Caitlin opens my eyes to new ideas and technologies that will drive our family farm into the future.

Caitlin: I have the passion to farm, the education, and the drive to succeed.

Mark: Caitlin does not have the experience that 35 years of problem solving gave me.

What Caitlin does bring to the farm is a millennial mindset that absorbs data faster, multitasks better, and uses a smartphone with tons of apps like it is hardwired to her brain.

Caitlin: I carry a large smartphone with a stylus.

Mark: I am still more comfortable writing down everything first before entering it into a computer. I carry the same pocket calendar notebook and a pen for a year.

A dad's perspective
I remember dealing with some of the same issues with my father after I came back to the farm in 1982. Now I understand his point of view far better than when I arrived home from college. The gray hair he has now was probably due to allowing me to manage the dairy side of the business as soon as I graduated. It forced me to learn rapidly and out of necessity. Managing cows and staff without having been a mid-level manager first led to some hard lessons for me.

These days, our farm is a bit larger. This has allowed Caitlin to start out with a good deal of responsibility, yet, hopefully, not feel the pressure that running all of the dairy operation entails.

It is a new millennium. It is filled with a vast assortment of new technologies for farmers, but in my opinion, the greatest asset on a family farm is the next generation.

The next generation is there to open our eyes to change, and they are helping to push us into a new millennia filled with possibilities. Knowing that your kids will be there, improving on what generations of your family worked so hard to build, gives me an added sense of purpose. Seeing that your daughter ran things at the farm just fine while you were out of town . . . priceless.

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Mark and Caitlin Rodgers are dairy farmers in Dearing, Georgia. Their "Daddy and Daughter Dairy Together" column will appear every other Thursday on HD Notebook. The Rodgers have a 400-cow dairy that averages 32,000 pounds of milk. Follow their family farm on Facebook at Hillcrest Farms Inc.