Technology in Dairy

My family's dairy farm is small - just 38 cows. To give some perspective, the average size of a dairy farm in Minnesota was 90 cows as of 2007. In California and other western states, that number is much larger. My family's cows are milked in a 38 stall tie-stall/stanchion barn, which is an older style that most people are more familiar with. Each cow has a stall that is assigned to them and they learn which stall is theirs. With such a small herd and the type of barn we have, my family does not utilize a lot of the more advanced technology, such as robotic milkers and herd management systems.

Today I started technical training through work for a line of dairy automation products and I have two more days of this training. This line includes software and hardware that can sort cows, track cow activity to help monitor which cows have high and low activity, monitor hoof care, and monitor milking. I've been in the dairy industry since I was born but I am continually amazed by the technology that is available. It often makes for less work for the farmer, but it also improves the cows lives as it helps catch things that the farmer might otherwise miss or not notice as quickly.

My boyfriend's family's dairy farm is not much larger than my family's at 100 cows, but it is very different. These cows are housed in a free stall barn, where there are stalls but is all open to the cows which no assigned stalls. Feeding is done as a group, rather than in individual rations. The cows are milked in a parallel parlor. This is where the cows are sent from the free stall barn to a holding area and then into milking stalls on either side of the parlor (thus parallel as there are parallel sides). In the "pit", below the parlor, are the people who milk the cows. Once a side of the parlor is done milking, they exit back into the barn and the next group enters. Sensors read the cow's ID tag as she enters the parlor so that my boyfriend's dad can tell how much milk came from each individual cow during each milking.

The level of technology is different on my family's farm and my boyfriend's family's farm, but they are both good farms doing what works best for them at the moment. Both are also looking into upgrading technology. I enjoy learning about the technology that is available to today's farmers and hearing how it can improve both the farmers and the cows lives. For instance, software and hardware that can detect lameness in cows and gives cows hoof bathes - now that's cool.

The Big Move

I'm getting settled into my new apartment in Madison, WI and have been in town for 2 weeks now. The past two weeks have a whirlwind of busy as I had a hotel mix-up, started apartment searching, met some relatives that live near the area, started my new job at BouMatic, moved into my new apartment, and met lots of new people.

My journey to Madison started two weeks ago as I was heading to my home for the week - an extended stay hotel - but due to a mix-up had to find a different place to crash for a couple of nights. I knew I had relatives in the area but I had not known them before. I got in touch with my parents and my Dad called his cousin in Oregon, just outside Madison, and arranged for me to stay there. It was essentially "Nice to meet you! I'm your cousin's daughter and I'll be staying here for a couple of nights." Luckily, my Dad's cousin's family was very nice and friendly. On my first day at work I finally got into my extended hotel stay hotel, which I loved because it had free wireless, breakfast and supper.

Work has been interesting so far and I've met so many people and am learning a lot. Even though I grew up on a dairy farm, I am realizing that there is so much about the industry to learn yet, which is exciting. My boss is in Belgium and works out of the European headquarters in Remicourt, Belgium, but I work closely with a great Brand Management team in Madison. That team has been showing me the ropes and I'm learning everything that my role entails and getting started on some big projects.

Last week I signed the lease on my new apartment and I moved in on Monday. I'm still in the process of settling in, but it's getting there. I'll be bringing one of my rabbits to live here (in it's cage) sometime soon. The complex I live in is just 2 miles from where I work and, though it's still in Madison, I drive by a corn field on my way to work. There's a woods just outside my patio and I love it. Pictures of the place will likely come as I get more settled in.

So far I'm experiencing a huge mixture of loving the city and my new job and greatly missing home. The missing home portion is compounded by the fact that the Douglas County Fair is going on at this moment and this is the first year I've ever missed it completely. Last year was my first year not being in 4-H, but I was still able to make it to part of the fair in between coming home from Missouri and heading back to college.  Still, I'm grateful for this experience and it's definitely a change to be on my own in a new city and a new state.

Moving Away From Home and the Farm

It seems like I'm constantly realizing that I'm growing up, which is both an exciting and odd feeling. Though I've accepted my first "big-kid" job and am set to move to Madison in a week, it's just begun to sink in more and more and I'm sure it won't completely sink in for a while. Friday was one of those "you feel like an adult when" moments as I got kitchen items as an early 21st birthday present. I was even excited to get them as I like to cook and bake and I definitely needed a new pot and pan set.

Another one of those "you feel like an adult when" moments occurred last weekend as I went home and packed up a lot of my stuff for my move to Madison. None of my family was home  last weekend as they were attending my younger brother's graduation from Basic training for the North Dakota Air Guard, which I would've loved to have been there for. However, I did get to spend time with the boyfriend at the small town (population of 100) festival that weekend.

I've moved before - to and from college and to and from Kansas City - but this time was different. This time it's not a temporary arrangement with a set end date. Leaving my home is one thing, but leaving the farm is another. I miss the farm a lot while I'm away, but I imagine it'll be even harder when I'm 7 hours away in a more permanent location.

Since I'll be working in the dairy industry, I imagine that at least being able to talk about dairy on a daily basis and being involved in the industry will help me feel more connected to the farm even when I'm 7 hours away. Even if I won't be on the farm, I'm glad that I'll still be able to work in and support the industry.

Norwegian Connection

By now, most people have heard of the tragedy that occurred in and near Oslo, Norway (Norge in Norwegian). What happened there is absolutely horrific and I immediately felt for the people there. I wouldn't typically write about a major tragedy, as news outlets do that already, but in this case I have been to the city that was affected.

I visited Oslo for a few days, including during Syttennde Mai, the Norwegian Independence Day, on a study abroad trip. As a Minnesotan, I've certainly been exposed to Norwegian foods such as lefse and Norwegian heritage jokes like Ole and Lena. I'm not Norwegian myself though and was just one of 2 students who didn't have Norwegian heritage out of the 15 student on the trip. While I visited Norway for two weeks, I grew to appreciate the culture and enjoyed the beauty of both the countryside and the towns.

School children walking in the Syttennde Mai parade in Olso.

Our trip to Oslo was cut short by the Iceland volcano Eyjafjallajokull, but I enjoyed the time that I did get to spend in the city. The goal for Oslo was to be there for Syttennde Mai, a great experience that reminded me of the 4th of July and what it means to have a sense of national pride. On Syttennde Mai we even found hot dogs wrapped in the aforementioned lefse at a street vendor.

A year after my visit to Norway, my heart goes out to the Norwegians as they go through this national tragedy.

Big News: Starting a New Chapter

My internship with Wilbur-Ellis ends August 5th and I've been applying and interviewing for full-time positions to start once my internship ends.  There's been many ups and downs, confusion, excitement, and hard decisions along the way, but I'm happy to say that today my job search is over.

I concentrated my job search on the agriculture industry and focused primarily on roles dealing with communications and/or marketing.  My Communication degree is broad and marketing can apply to a wide variety of roles and tasks, and I believe I found a position that I will be very satisfied with.

Starting August 8th, I'll be the North America Market Manager with BouMatic in Madison, Wisconsin.  BouMatic is a global dairy equipment manufacturing company and I'm excited to be able to work in the awesome dairy industry.  I'll be moving to Madison, about 7 hours away from home, which is both scary and exciting at the same time.  I'll also be apartment searching for the first time and doing many other firsts.  It's a big change that I'm very excited about.  

Revisiting the National 4-H Dairy Conference

I drove into Madison, Wisconsin tonight and am currently at a hotel for my short visit to Madison.  The last time, and only other time, I was in this city was in 2006 for the National 4-H Dairy Conference. As I drove by ABS Global on my way into Madison tonight, I was reminded of that conference and how much it impacted me.

When I attended, I was a junior in high school and had just started dating my boyfriend who also attended the conferenc., We were two of over 20 Minnesota delegates to this large conference held on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.  The Gopher Dairy Club typically sponsors MN delegates.

The National 4-H Dairy Conference (NDC) was truly an amazing opportunity, and continues to be a great experience for high school 4-Hers involved in the dairy industry.  I'd recommend it anyone.  I remember most of my fellow Minnesota delegates and still keep in touch with many of them, and continue to see many active in the dairy industry. 3 (the boyfriend included) were even 4-H State Ambassadors with me, an experience I intend to write about later.

                                   

                                

About half of the MN group at the National 4-H Dairy Conference next to a cow statue on State Street in Madison.  I'm on the far left in the first row.  

Today I'm thankful that NDC exposed me to how diverse the dairy industry is.  Before, I had learned about other types of dairies but hadn't visited any larger than 100 cows.  The conference brought me to large dairies with rotary parlors, dairies that produce their own cheese, organic dairies larger than my family's, custom heifer growers, farms with methane digesters, Hoard's Dairyman (the office and the Guernsey farm), and ABS Global, among others.  

I have always had an interest in agriculture and love cows, but it was during NDC that I became absolutely certain that I wanted to have a career in agriculture.  Attending a large-scale conference like NDC allowed me to get outside the box of my local county and state and really immerse myself in not just dairy, but agriculture as a whole as well.  After all, as diverse as dairy is, the agriculture industry as a whole is even more diverse.  The conference further developed my infinite desire to learn more, see more, and do more in regards to agriculture.  

NoDak Adventures: Small Town U.S.A.

This weekend I attended the wedding of a college friend up in Grand Forks, North Dakota (NoDak).  I've always enjoyed weddings and the bf was a groomsman in this one.  It was great to see some of my college friends and the entire weekend was a lot of fun.

One of the closest Wilbur-Ellis branches is in Grand Forks, ND and I thought that going to the wedding in the area was a great chance to visit the branch in the same trip.  Plans were set for me to visit the Grand Forks branch and visit dealers with one employee who worked primarily with Nutrition and primarily with Seed.

During my visit with the Grand Forks branch we traveled all over northeastern NoDak, primarily visiting "alliances" or local ag stores that sell Wilbur-Ellis products.  Working in the Burnsville, MN office I typically see the "big picture", and visiting the branch and the stores that sell Wilbur-Ellis products allowed me to see beyond that.  It was a good experience to be able to see how the product bulletins and brochures that I put together in the office get used every day in the field to talk to growers.  Besides that aspect, it was so interesting to hear what the retail store workers were talking about and what issues are important to northeastern ND.  It's been a very wet spring and it had rained that day and the day before so the fields had standing water, but there was one test plot that was dry enough for us to walk in.



The places we visited in NoDak were small towns, with the biggest having a population of 604.  It's quite likely that most people haven't heard of Petersburg, Alsen, or Minto, ND, just as most haven't heard of Millerville, MN.  Millerville is the small town, population 100, just 5 miles from the dairy farm I grew up on.  As I was traveling through NoDak, all of the small towns I visited reminded me a bit of Millerville.  In Petersburg, we stopped at a gas station/ag service store that had a fridge full of pop.  If you wanted a pop, all you had to do was put some change in the box in the fridge - it was the "small town vending machine".

I've lived in Kansas City and I currently live in a Minneapolis suburb, so I don't have a problem with living in a city, but there's simply something different about small towns.  The small town vending machine in Peterburg reminded me of what I like about Millerville.  In Millerville, there's a gas station where the owner fills up your gas for you, puts the bill on your tab, and gives you a loaner car when you get an oil change.  I love having that available.



Small towns are made even more interesting because they're often farming communities.  In a place like North Dakota, where there aren't many big towns and the towns aren't real close together, farmers seem to come together in their communities.  I'm sure the same holds true in small towns across the U.S.  My family likes to say that farming is a spectator sport, and it's also a "sport" in which farmers like to feel a connection to other farmers.  With years like this where there are a lot of preventive planting acres and those that did get planted are behind schedule, it's even more important to have those communities.