Editor’s note: Christina Winch originally posted this blog on Progressive Dairyman’s Proud to Dairy network. Join the site for free and share your ideas for keeping calves entertained. Farmers have creative minds when it comes to solving problems. In the fall of 2014, we installed automatic calf feeders, and for the most part, we are liking the results. The calves are bigger and healthier, along with a better quality of life for our family.

It was just another day in the barn. My company included the calves, my husband and my three boys. We went about chores, enjoyed some quality time together and got some extra jobs done. The nutritionist and A.I. technician stopped in. The day was full – yet something felt like it was missing.

Inspire. That was the theme of the 2016 PDPW (Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin) Business Conference held recently in Madison, Wisconsin. Throughout the two-day event, I was inspired with ideas that I can use on my farm, in my classroom and in life. My inspiration actually started the day before the conference.

I am proud to say I have been a Wisconsin Farm Bureau member for 15 years, and in those 15 years I have heard many times about using grassroots efforts to make a difference in policy. This past year, for the first time, there was something in our state policy I wanted changed. With a little research and help from fellow members, I was able to pull together people who thought the same as I did to pass a policy amendment changing the current state policy.

As many of you already know from reading previous articles about our farm and family, you know that we rotationally graze our cattle. It was in the late 1990s when my husband, Peter, came home to farm with his dad. As they got into grazing, he started doing research about what breeds thrive in a grazing situation.

Nestled in the rolling hills of southwest Wisconsin, milk cows graze in a picturesque setting, munching on green grass. Later in the day, they will make their way home to the comfortable freestalls and feeding barn. Here they will eat a TMR (total mixed ration). This combination of rotational grazing and feeding of a TMR mixture is why I consider our farm a hybrid.

Memorial Day weekend is considered the end of the school year and the beginning of summer. When my boys were in preschool and kindergarten, they would bring home summer calendars with suggested activities to keep them engaged and learning throughout the summer. Today teachers encourage us to have them read, write and work on math during the summer so they stay sharp with their skills.