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Age: 33
Location: Sulligent, Alabama
My dairy’s history: My grandfather bought his parents’ farm in the early 1950s and shifted its focus from corn and cotton production to dairy. Today, the farm is owned and operated by my father and me. We have gradually built our total herd size (calves to cows) up to 450 Holsteins and grow all of their silage and hay on our farm.
Age: 60
Location: Ferndale, California
My dairy’s history: It’s first generation. I started it in June 1974, right out of Cal Poly University in San Luis Obispo. I brought 30 cows home with me from the project dairy. At one time the dairy had grown to 1,000 cows. Today we are an organic dairy with 500 milking cows.
HOW WE MET: It all started when I heard some sort of clatter out on my lawn last year. Springing from my bed and grabbing my eight-iron (I’ve never trusted my nine-iron), I tiptoed down the stairs to catch what I thought was an intruder rustling around in my living room. Imagine my surprise to find the Jolly Old Elf himself putting goodies under the Christmas tree. I offered him some homemade chocolate chip cookies and he was gracious enough to answer a few of my questions.
Age: 62
Location: Little Rock, Arkansas
Heifer International’s history: It all started with a cow. Dan West, an Indiana farmer, volunteer relief worker and Church of the Brethren member, saw that people needed “a cow, not a cup” – cows that could produce milk so families would not have to depend on temporary aid. From that simple idea, Heifer International was born.
The Dockendorf family was featured at the 2012 World Dairy Expo as a Virtual Farm Tour. The Dockendorfs recently installed a Lely robotic milker. Hear Lori and Kayla explain how technology has changed a woman's role and responsibilities on the dairy. PD
Click here to visit Progressive Dairyman's YouTube channel for more videos.
of Progressive Dairyman is our annual "Women in Dairy" issue, and like last year, we reached out to friends of our Facebook, Twitter and Proud to Dairy networks to give a shoutout to their favorite dairywomen. Want to add yours? Click here to email Web Editor Emily Caldwell or below.
The online version of this article from page 20 of the print magazine features additional responses and text.
I need to give a shout out to my wonderful wife, Sonja Rasmussen. On Oct. 1 2011, she gave up her "in town" job to be on the farm full time. It has been a great year. She was involved before, but now I truly have a partner helping me manage this dairy.
She has taken a very active role in milk quality. We have dropped our SCC to premium levels and all our milkers have defined and written SOP's. I feel she has helped me regain control of our farm and I don't think I could have done it without her.
—Mike Rasmussen, Edmore, Michigan via Facebook
While milking cows on her family-owned dairy in Lakeville, Minnesota, Cheryl Mohn knew there had to be a better way to carry cow towels. She designed the Towel Tote – and from there launched a business known worldwide.
As president of Udder Tech, Mohn carefully drafts patterns, selects materials and oversees construction of waterproof and water-resistant clothing and products to fit the needs of dairy producers and industry professionals. PD
In 2009, female veterinarians began outnumbering their male counterparts. Food animal medicine continues to be male-dominated but female numbers are on the rise. In 2006, food animal-predominant veterinarians in private practice were 17 percent female. That number has grown to 19 percent as of 2011, according to American Veterinary Medical Association market research statistics.
It’s a trend that many in the field expect to continue.
“We have been seeing a shift toward mostly female students in the past several years from when we began receiving preceptors eight years ago in our practice’s mentoring program,” says Dr. Angela Daniels. “I think that the current male predominance in food animal medicine is coming from established practitioners because, certainly, the number of people entering into food animal practice appears to be heavily dominated by women.”
Marilyn Calvin has been a strong advocate for pasture-based dairy farming for years, but it was only recently that she took the plunge herself. Better late than never, she figured.
The Mt. Vernon, Missouri producer was busy this spring putting up fencing for paddocks that will range from five to 10 acres in size. She also put in 5,200 feet of underground water lines connected to 10 new water stations.
A consultant with Dairy Farmers of America helped design the system.
The personal stories and anecdotes of 12-year-old Maddie Cook have been read more than 4,500 times in about 40 countries around the world. This young blogger goes by the user name “Maddie Moo” online – and offline with her family and friends.
You may be wondering, “What makes her so interesting?” It’s simple: She has a remarkable amount of ambition to promote an industry that affects every human being on the planet – the dairy industry. Cows of every color are Maddie’s world.
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