17/08/2021
In the words of a PA dairy farm family:
"We are a dairy and crop farm located in New Columbia, Union County, PA. My husband and I are 6th and 3rd generation farmers with two great kids that will hopefully, be the next farming generation. The majority of the cow families in our barn originally go back to the cow families in my parents’ and grandparents’ herd. Our cows have been part of the family since 1959. Today, we use a robotic milking system to milk our 60 Registered Holsteins, which are housed in a compost bedded pack barn. Our facility was designed with cow health, cow comfort, and high quality milk production as top priorities. There are few things more enjoyable to us than walking into our quiet, robot barn and watching clean, comfortable cows resting, eating, and milking 100% on their terms. We concentrate on growing high quality forage crops, and maximize their use in the cows’ daily diet. As dairy farmers, we are proud of raising well fed, clean, healthy animals. Our family believes if we provide our cows with the utmost care, they will return the favor by producing high quality, good tasting, nutritious, milk. Lately, margins have been very tight for dairy farmers everywhere. Some people have asked us why we still farm? While economics may dictate a different reality in the future, the truth is, we have a deep love and passion for doing what we do. Honestly, knowing that nothing we have in this life truly belongs to us, we feel privileged that God saw fit to entrust our family with the responsibility of caring for His creation. We immediately fall in love with a newborn calf the moment she is born, and we grieve when we lose the same animal years down the road. There are so many ways farmers witness God working on a daily basis. The greening of spring grass, newly sprouting corn plants in the field, kittens in the hay mow, and rain falling just in time to save the crop from drought are all examples. It’s a powerful reminder that we are not in control, and yet He provides blessings daily. My heart swells when my children look up at me with proud eyes and declare that they will help mommy feed calves or push up TMR to the cows even though they are too small to push that large pile in front of them. I can only pray they will have the opportunity to experience the joy and humility that comes with the task of caring for God’s creation and feeding the world. As farmers, we would like to thank the consumers who buy our products, and in turn, help to ensure the security of the family farm."
-- From a PA dairy farm family
