During a recent summer trip, I heard the most ridiculous statistic about cows. Unfortunately, it turned out to be true.

Life can yank off the blinders in our lives as we sit on the bottom floor of desperation, or we can turn to the Savior daily to keep moving upward as He gently removes the blinders from our eyes and fills our lives with His love.

I started noticing a lot of people looking back in my direction. At first, I assumed they were looking at my girlfriend, which filled me with that natural mix of jealousy and pride.

Too often in life, we divide ourselves into two sides on an issue. A quick browse on my Facebook newsfeed, and this definitely seems to be the case. Even in the dairy industry, we polarize ourselves – sometimes without trying.

A dairy farmer cries fowl. This is an open letter to all my chicken farmer friends. That would be you, Kevin. I’m not saying there aren’t a lot of chicken farmers; I’m just saying I don’t have a lot of friends.

Editor’s Note: This column is submitted by Chuck Nicholson, an adjunct associate professor in the college of agriculture and life sciences at Cornell University and a former clinical associate professor of supply chain management at Penn State University. Nicholson is one of three economists who contributed to the 2017 “Study to Support Growth and Competitiveness of the Pennsylvania Dairy Industry,” commissioned by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and the Center for Dairy Excellence.

I knew this conversation during milking was going to happen eventually, but when it did, I was not totally prepared. “I think Beth needs to go on the truck,” my husband, Sam, said during Tuesday morning milking. He was referring to Beth, who was the oldest cow in the barn and occupied stall number 45 for as long as I could remember.

As a dairy farmer, you know the hard work that goes into making that gallon of milk in the grocery store dairy case. Wholesome and nutritious, that gallon of milk represents the culmination of generations of hard work expanding and growing the family business. Milk is what your life revolves around: milking the cows, working the fields, caring for the animals. So, as members of the dairy industry, we take that word “milk” seriously.

As you drive the rolling hills of southwest Wisconsin along Highway 18 just east of Fennimore and glance to the south, you will notice a new building dotting the skyline.

While many kids get all excited about their summer vacation trip to the beach or a camping trip in the mountains, a dairy farm kid knows their summer will consist of fixing pasture fences, mowing hay or training a 4-H calf.