Dairy farmer: “We employ 15 Mexicans here.” Me: “Oh, are they all from Mexico?” Dairy farmer: “I don’t know. I don’t think so.” Me: “Then they’re not all Mexicans. That’s like calling me Canadian just because I’m a white girl.”

Did you sing the title of this article in your head? When we were outlining this article, the hit song inexplicably popped into our heads. Then we realized it was because it so accurately describes how dairy advocates are feeling right now.

If I had a dime for every time I heard, “He’s [or she’s] not a real farmer,” I would probably make more than I do currently milking cows. Actually, I don’t milk cows. I hate milking cows. In my opinion, I think it’s the most monotonous job on a dairy farm.

I’ve always said, “If we can’t bring consumers to the farm, then let’s bring the farm to consumers.” As a dairy farmer and passionate agvocate, I particularly love to educate about agriculture through farm tours.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article was first published in the Delmarva Farmer. Breaking out of our “silos” or “dairy bubbles” is a topic I’ve written about before. It’s crucial to explore other things than just what we do on a day-to-day basis on our farms.

I dance and sing on a daily basis in the calf barn. From a young age, I’ve always loved to do both and found dancing helps relieve stress for me. Everyone deals with stress and, if you’re a dairy farmer, you’re dealing with a ton more stress than the average person right now.

Constantly looking over your shoulder, criticizing every little detail, never being happy with your efforts, creating additional un-needed stress – these are just a few things micromanagers do to others. This often results in the person being micromanaged feeling devalued and untrustworthy.

Working in silos. No, not the kind that hold feed – the metaphoric kind we do unconsciously where we stay in our comfort zone, in our own little area of the world, doing the daily grind in the same place and surrounding ourselves with the same people, day in and day out.