I had a lot of fun in college. And by fun, I mean club pizza parties and ice cream socials, of course. But then, I had to graduate and it was time to (kind of) grow up.

I could have either chosen to participate in the culture around me or stayed in my room and watched Internet TV. It was a line that became my defense to the people I explained this to, and one that I often repeated to myself.

A dairy farmer friend of mine told me that on his farm, “They don’t have preventative maintenance; they have crisis management.”

When my husband, Brandon, and I became full-fledged dairy farmers in the fall of 2014, we knew there was a tough road ahead. We anticipated frozen water cups (so many frozen water cups!), flooded barns, sick cows and everything else that goes wrong on a farm in sub-zero weather. The one challenge that we didn’t see coming was in the form of our 18-month-old son, Cassidy.

Though I live only a short drive from Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers, my most recent visit there wasn’t to cheer on Aaron Rodgers. It was for the Alltech Dairy School.

Someone sped up the clock. It’s just not right. Christmas comes every other month now, and the rest of the holidays are crunched in between.

They said there wasn’t a horse he couldn’t train. They said the most obstinate animals are obedient to him. They said a horse sensed his authority the moment he stepped in the corral.

As we ring in the New Year, we often look for the future’s possibilities and set our New Year resolutions for the upcoming year. However, I also think it is a vital time to reflect on the past year and everything that has happened within those 12 months.

A famous Hollywood superstar has just declared their New Year’s resolution was to become a farmer. Said person’s reasoning was to enjoy nature, live off only the food they grow for themselves and live a simpler life.

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.