Dairy farmers have a lot to worry about in a day’s time — from crops and the weather to livestock and our families. Us dairy farmers also find ourselves spending time thinking about one of the most important things to us, milk. Whether it’s thinking about milk quality, nutritional components, overall quantity, milk storage, or cleaning and sanitizing equipment, there are a lot of factors that come into play when you think about one of the core parts of our job, which is getting quality dairy products to consumers.

So, while I’m at work on the farm, I’m often thinking about any number of these milk-related factors. I might be dealing with treating a cow with mastitis and discarding that milk. Or, I may be planning on what to do with the extra colostrum that a high-producing fresh cow just produced (refrigerate it to use tomorrow, freeze it to store for a time when another cow doesn’t produce enough for her calf, or share some of the surplus with the neighbors who could use it for an orphaned beef calf). I am also thinking about sanitizing milking equipment and doing a proper wash of everything to maintain a quality product and prevent bacteria build-up.

All these milk considerations are second nature to dairy farmers, and they are ingrained in me from growing up on the farm. With all that said, I also think about milk and these exact same things nearly constantly when it comes to my family. Naturally, I think about keeping fresh, wholesome milk stocked in our fridge for family and friends to enjoy with meals at our house. But, as a mom of a little baby, I am also always thinking about my own breastmilk. And, you know what? Everything I know about milk quality and handling as a dairy farmer directly translates into feeding my baby. These days, when I’m not focused on something related to our dairy farm, I am usually busy feeding my baby, storing excess milk in the freezer, sorting stored colostrum to use when my baby gets a touch of a cold, cleaning pump parts, sanitizing bottles, and so forth.

When both my babies were born, a lactation consultant visited our hospital room to check in. After discovering that my husband and I both dairy farm, they realized we know way more about things like milk letdown and mastitis than the average person.

So, as a dairy farmer, toddler parent, and mom in the trenches of raising a baby, you can probably bet I’m thinking about milk in some capacity all hours of the day. I’d wager that most other dairy farming moms can easily relate to me and my overly milk-centered thought-processes at this point in my life.

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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.