I was going about my regular chores one day recently when my phone went off simultaneously with alerts from different automated systems we have implemented on our dairy farm. The first was a call from the robotic milking system letting me know something was wrong and would need to be checked on and potentially fixed. Meanwhile, my phone was literally “moo-ing” with notifications from our new heat-detection software for our heifer herd, letting me know a handful of heifers were showing signs of heat and were ready to be bred. As I silenced my phone amid a group of extra curious cows I was sorting at the time, I had to chuckle to myself that all the phone noise was strictly related to cows and not from a real person.
Farmers may not typically fall into the social or extroverted stereotypes; however, running a successful dairy farm requires its fair share of communication. Whether it’s the automated phone calls from one system or another, or someone tied to the day-to-day operations of the farm, a farmer’s phone needs to be charged and within reach to keep things running smoothly. Calls or texts can range from feed deliveries and veterinary scheduling to nutritionist findings and co-op business. Not to mention the endless new and established salesmen for machinery, seed, and equipment.
So, while it may not be every farmer’s cup of tea, talking with the outside world is part of the job. For some of us, talking with these people that work with different aspects of the dairy can provide insight for us to learn new things and chat with someone that isn’t of the bovine species. We may even look forward to some interactions and phone calls since we don’t get to socialize off the farm very often.
With the endless tasks associated with day-to-day farm life, it can be easy to keep our head down and avoid extra talking to get more done. However, taking a pause here and there to engage and have meaningful conversations with people can be beneficial to us both in the short and long term.
The author dairy farms with her parents and brother near Hawkeye, Iowa. The family milks approximately 300 head of grade Holstein cows at Windsor Valley Dairy LLC — split half and half between a double-eight parallel milking parlor and four robotic milking units. In the spring of 2020, Molly decided to take a leap and fully embrace her love for the industry by returning full time to her family’s dairy.
