Chrissy Meyer has roots on a small Wisconsin dairy farm, but her career has taken her overseas, where she has visited dairies in countries like the Netherlands, Italy and Wales. See how dairying in these places is not so different from the U.S. in these photos.

Growing up on the small, 40-cow registered Holstein farm that my parents still operate in rural southwestern Wisconsin, I never imagined where future travels might take me.

It almost seems impossible that I have been managing Cedar Pine Farm for five years now. I remember walking onto the farm on that chilly November day. We were milking around 300 cows and feeding 30 calves. These days we are quickly approaching 500 milking and 100 calves.

Sometimes a person can do everything by the book or owner’s manual – and it ends in failure. Such is what happened here last fall when I was chopping corn silage to fill my back silo. We like to have silage in the ration, which we feed to our cattle. They really like it too, and it’s very good for them.

I have no doubt that, like every generation before us, we will judge the next generation to be spoiled or clueless. Nonetheless, whatever does become of them, I hope that the next generation holds us accountable and thinks for themselves.

It’s that time of the year when people gather and listen to hear how things are going. As citizens, we listen to our governors and the president talk about how our states and country are doing. As farmers, we attend cooperative annual meetings, agronomy listening sessions and more to find out if the cooperative had a good year or what the results were from last year’s test plots.

The month of March brings with it some monumental celebrations such as St. Patrick’s Day, which is celebrated by eating corned beef and cabbage, Skittles and lots of green beer. This is a special day for some – but just another typical day for the people of Wisconsin.

I have argued with myself over the refugee and immigration issue. On the one hand, as Christians, we need to help our brothers and sisters in their time of crisis. That is what Christ would do – but on the other hand, will my Christian beliefs and freedom be swallowed up in the new customs and traditions they bring to our country?

While I know some of you live in areas that are flourishing, there are many of us who live in areas that are simply withering on the vine, which at some point will make it difficult for us to attract new talent if our businesses are to continue to grow.

Every day, dairy farmers go to great lengths to care for their cows. In this series from Dairy MAX, Jodi Jackson of Bentwood Dairy in Texas shares her story about caring for a calf with a broken leg. Can you relate?