I grew up on a dairy farm and have been around cows my whole life. I learned at an early age how to properly care for and handle cows.

As dairy farmers, I know we wear many hats, not just on the farm but off the farm as well. So why is it every time someone asks us to do something, we immediately volunteer?

When I returned to my family farm a couple years ago, my mother gladly gave up her role of managing employees. Since I had the opportunity to work off the farm for several years, I thought I knew what to do. I mean, I was a new hire myself in a new place with no previous experience.

For those of you who read my first blog, you know the excitement I had to become a full-time dairy farmer. If you didn’t read it, long story short, I left an excellent job to come back to a physical job with longer hours and less pay, and I couldn’t wait to get started!

Dairy farmers usually don’t have trouble caring for their animals, but sometimes they have trouble taking care of themselves. From working in the industry, and now being a dairy farmer myself, I have seen and experienced this firsthand.

A few months ago, I stepped into my boss’s office for my annual review. I sat down and listened as my boss gave me a lot of positive feedback and a couple of things to work on. He offered me a raise, gave me a generous bonus, and after all of that, I told him I had decided to return to my family’s dairy farm.