We celebrate June Dairy Month with some history and fun aspects of dairy cows and the farmers who diligently care for their cows. Last week’s Dairy Excel article celebrated the dairy industry’s tremendous gains in milk efficiency and the value and variety of nutritious dairy products we all enjoy.
Our nation’s history of 250 years has involved agriculture from the very beginning, where each farm provided food for its family. Farming methods and scale have changed, but the dedication, resilience and risks that our farmers take each day have not changed. Each American farmer today annually produces food to feed over 60 families. 96% of American farms today are family-owned and many are multigenerational. The average U.S. family spends only 14% of their yearly income on food versus other countries that spend in excess of 40%.
Dairy cows
My family heritage has a long legacy of farming. My in-laws were dairy farmers in eastern Ohio from 1820 with five generations of farming history. From my family’s farming memoirs, I share a humorous definition of a cow from the perspective of a city boy.
Definition of a cow.
A cow is a completely automatic milk manufacturing machine. It is encased in untanned leather and mounted on four vertical, movable supports, one on each corner. The front end contains the cutting and grinding mechanism, as well as headlights, air inlets and exhaust, two extended bumpers (horns) and a foghorn. An odor and taste sensor is attached to the front of the cutting and grinding mechanism. The rear end contains a dispensing apparatus for solid and liquid waste, along with an automatic fly swatter. Four elongated dispensing tubes on the rear underside of the machine is where the milk is removed.
The central portion houses a hydro-chemical conversion plant. This consists of four fermentation and storage tanks connected in series by an intricate network of flexible plumbing. This section also contains the heating plant, complete with automatic temperature controls, pumping station and main ventilating system.
In brief, the externally visible features are: two lookers, two hookers, four stand-uppers, four hanger-downers and a swishy-wishy. There is a similar machine known as a bull, which should not be confused with a cow. It produces no milk, but has other interesting uses. (Source: Weir Farm Memoir)
The city boy’s cow description is a humorous but real view of the complexity of dairy cows that our hard-working farmers provide great care.
Dairy farmers
Dairy farmers are experts in cows that require them to have a vast working knowledge of genetics, breeding, health and maternity care, feeding, forages, seed, soil and manure. Dairy farmers must also operate a profitable business, which requires insights into finances, economics, risk management, regulations, equipment and labor. Many a notable dairy farmer has told me over the years that cows are easier to manage than the workers. Cows don’t talk back, and cows always show up for work, unless the barn gate was left open.
Dairy farmers are deeply rooted in tradition with an entrepreneurial spirit. They have unstoppable can-do attitudes (some call it hard-headed) and have a relentless pursuit for improvement. Many have a strong faith in God and resilience to weather storms, both literally and metaphorically.
A farmer’s work is mentally, emotionally and physically demanding. They live with unpredictable weather, markets and economics. My farmer uncle would tell me, “Many Americans go to Las Vegas to gamble; farmers just go to work.”
The Farmers Creed, written by Frank Mann, sums up our incredible dairy farmers.
The Farmers Creed
by Frank Mann
I believe a man’s greatest possession is his dignity and that no calling bestows this more abundantly than farming.
I believe hard work and honest sweat are the building blocks of a person’s character.
I believe that farming, despite its hardships and disappointments, is the most honest and honorable way a man can spend his days on earth.
I believe my children are learning values that will last a lifetime and can be earned no other way.
I believe farming provides education for life and that no other occupation teaches so much about birth, growth and maturity in such a variety of ways.
I believe many of the best things in life are indeed free: the splendor of a sunrise, the rapture of wide-open spaces, and the exhilarating sight of your land greening each spring.
I believe true happiness comes in watching your crops ripen in the field, your children grow tall in the sun and your whole family feel the pride that arise from their shared experience.
I believe that by my toil I am giving more to the world than I am taking from it, an honor that does not come to all men.
I believe my life, in part, will be measured in what I have done for my fellow man, and by this standard, I fear no judgment.
I believe when a man grows old and sums up his days, he should be able to stand tall and feel pride in the life he’s lived.
I believe in farming because it makes all this possible.
Celebrate Dairy Month
As we celebrate June as Dairy Month and 250 years as a strong agricultural nation, let’s celebrate independence and recognize our deep dependence on farmers, on nature and ultimately on God.
In contrast to Frank Sinatra’s “I did it my way,” perhaps the better anthem is one of trust, humility and gratitude. Thanks to all the innovative dairy farmers. Enjoy another scoop of ice cream!
