When Emory Bewley steps onto a dairy, she doesn’t lead with numbers and spreadsheets. She starts the conversation with a few simple questions. How’s it going? What’s new? How’s the family?
That instinct – to connect before consulting – isn’t something Bewley learned in a classroom. It’s something she figured out in the field, and it’s become the foundation of everything she does as a dairy consultant.
“Developing trust on these dairies is critical,” she says. “You want them to be your partner. You want them to trust you with everything. If you don’t set that first, you will never be successful.”
That, Bewley says, is the biggest lesson her first year has taught her. She quickly learned that while both are essential, the classroom and the farm are two different forms of education. This gap is something most young dairy professionals often face – technical knowledge sets the foundation, but everything else is learned on the farm.
What school doesn’t teach you
Bewley grew up in the dairy industry and always had a sense that consulting was where she wanted to land. What she didn’t fully understand until she was in it was how much of the job is about approach as much as it is about data.
“Being a salesman is not what producers want out of you,” she says. “They want somebody who’s going to help them be successful because they have their own goals too. How can you best match their goals to better their dairy with a personality behind it?”
In the beginning of her senior year, Bewley found a program that helped her start building that skillset before she ever set foot on a client’s farm – the Urus Dairy Consulting Experience (DCE), a program created to help shape future dairy leaders.
“Our team saw a tremendous opportunity to help students gain real-world consulting skills,” explains Kasey Schiltz, people project manager at Urus, who helped develop the program from the ground up. “We knew that by investing in the next generation, we could create a lasting impact far beyond the program itself. When young professionals have the knowledge, experience and confidence to earn producers’ trust, they are better equipped to help farms succeed for years to come.”
What emerged was a five-day immersive experience supported by experts from across Urus and its family of brands – Alta Genetics, Genex, Peak, SCCL, Trans Ova Genetics and VAS. Students work through case studies on-farm, learn from industry mentors, and ultimately present data-backed recommendations to actual producers. The program culminates with one participant receiving a $1,000 scholarship, awarded to the student who best demonstrates curiosity, passion and a willingness to give it everything they have.
“It’s not just about classroom learning,” Schiltz adds. “Students are walking through dairies, talking directly to producers and dealing with real farm challenges. There’s not a lot of ways to gain that level of hands-on experience before entering the workforce.”
For Bewley, that’s exactly what drew her in.
“Through college, they give you that foundational knowledge, but that’s not always what happens every day on a dairy,” she says. “When I saw [DCE], I knew that was the piece I was missing.”
Three key takeaways that stuck
Nearly two years later, Bewley still carries three lessons from that week that have shaped how she approaches her role every day.
1. Ask a lot of questions.
Spending time around more seasoned consultants taught Bewley that one of the best ways to learn is simply by asking questions. No two consultants approach a challenge the same way, and that exposure to different perspectives helped shape the way she works with both producers and fellow consultants today.
“I would constantly ask, ‘How would you approach this?’ or ‘What do you see here?’” Bewley says. “I think being vulnerable and asking all those questions is what really makes your consulting unique.”
2. Build relationships before anything else.
On a typical farm visit, Bewley spends the first few minutes just catching up – talking about what’s new, what’s coming up or any goals for the near future.
Those conversations give Bewley a pulse on what’s happening on the farm and how she can best support the people behind it. Maybe the farm is in the middle of a busy season, and the owner doesn’t have time for a data deep dive. Or maybe they have a lot of breedings to get done the following week and the focus needs to be creating the most efficient approach possible.
This is why relationships come before anything else for Bewley.
“I care about them, and as much as I want reproduction and genetics to be the first thing we talk about every time I go there, I know it is not the sole thing that happens on a dairy,” she explains.
3. Always be willing to learn.
This one surprised Bewley most.
“I’ve learned that you can be successful and not do it the same way as the person sitting next to you,” she says. “Developing your own way of doing things really sets you apart.”
It also taught her that not having all the answers isn’t a weakness. Instead, knowing when to bring in someone who knows more is one of the most valuable skillsets a young consultant can have. For instance, when a dairy she was working with saw something off in their reproduction data, she called in a colleague whose knowledge of sync protocols she describes as “lights out.”
“Sitting down with him, telling him what I saw in the data and combining that with what he brought – that really helped that dairy be successful,” she says.
The URUS Dairy Consulting Experience gave Emory Bewley her first taste of real-world dairy consulting, where she got to present her findings to a real dairy producer at the conclusion of the five-day, immersive program. Image provided by Mackenzie Ullmer.
A win that brought it full circle
Bewley remembers the exact moment when she knew she had chosen the right career path.
One of the 1,200-cow dairies she worked with had implemented an activity monitoring system within their milking herd and loved it. But when it came to heifer reproduction, there was still room to improve.
“So, I just asked them, ‘Why not implement the system with the heifers, too?’” Bewley says.
At first, the owner wasn’t convinced, but eventually, Bewley received a call that they were ready to move forward. She walked them through set up, and within weeks of implementation, the results started trending in the right direction. Heat detection rates improved because the system could monitor heifers around the clock. Conception rates followed. Pregnancy rates improved, too.
"That was my first big win," she says. “They trusted me. I made the recommendation, we moved forward, and now they’re doing it and it’s working. That was the moment where I thought, ‘OK, everything I’ve learned is true. I can do this.’”
For Bewley, that experience captures what consulting is really about. It’s not walking onto a farm with all the answers. It’s listening, offering a different perspective and being a trusted adviser producers can lean on to help reach their goals.
Advice for the future dairy consultant reading this
Schiltz and Bewley agree that one thing matters more than anything else for young professionals entering the workforce: character.
“If you want to be successful in this industry, lead with integrity, stay curious and always look for ways to help others succeed,” Schiltz says.
Whether someone comes from a farm background or a completely different path, they believe success starts with a willingness to show up, ask questions, absorb experiences and fully engage with the people and opportunities the industry puts in front of you.
“It’s hard being the new kid on the block,” Bewley says. “But you have to be vulnerable. You have to be open and honest with people, and trust will come.”
In Bewley’s career, being new never meant being unqualified. What mattered most was consistency – showing up ready, staying genuine and proving that you’re invested in helping producers succeed. Over time, those small interactions become relationships, and those relationships become the launching pad of a successful career in consulting.
Applications for the 2027 Urus Dairy Consulting Experience open in the fall. Visit the Urus website to learn more.
