There are a lot of tasks in life that can be overwhelming, especially as time becomes less of an available resource. One thing I’ve experienced in college is how easy it is to feel overwhelmed; between classes, extracurriculars, and jobs — they all seem to pile up.
Every so often, I get the chance to take a weekend trip from the California coastline back to my hometown in the Central Valley. As I drive past almond trees and vast acres of land, I anxiously await the peace and relaxation of my home — well, sort of.
Being home is always a relaxing stay, in between getting called out for work and helping keep dairy herd records on track. Even when I want to relax, there isn’t time to do so, because there’s always something left to be done on a dairy farm.
If I think life is busy as I take classes and have the beach 15 minutes away, my reality is slowly brought back to me once I go home. It’s easy to forget when I’m at school, but the fast-paced lifestyle on a dairy farm truly never stops.
If you ask any dairy farmer, they’d tell you that every day holds a new adventure ahead. Whether it’s performing herd checks on Tuesday, tattooing on Monday, or ending the day off at the office with a list of records to enter, a dairy farmer’s to-do list is always pages long.
In the same way, the newfound adventure of each day can be seen in a positive light. Not every day will be the same, and you never know what the day will throw at you. Keeping the mentality to “just keep milking” has helped me through some of my toughest days on the farm, and at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
The saying might seem silly, but taking things one step at a time has truly been a lifesaver here at school. For any busy person out there, it’s important to “just keep milking” and keep trekking along throughout the day. After all, it’s very hard to be busier than a dairy farmer.
Morgan Oliveira was the 2024 Hoard’s Dairyman editorial intern. She grew up working on her family’s dairy farm near Hilmar, Calif. As a student at Cal Poly University, Oliveira is majoring in agriculture communications.
