Dairy Farmer Roadtrip "Vacation"

Dairy Farmers are a wonderful breed of people. Each caring for and producing the best quality product they possibly can. I am reminded of this time and time again as I forge more friendships throughout the dairy world.

This latest expansion of my "dairy family" took me to eastern Washington state near the town of Spokane. We sold one of our Ladies, to Spokane Family Farm. They run a herd of Holsteins and Jerseys and process their own milk. We were interested in seeing their processing facility, so made the drive up to deliver them their "prize" Guernsey.

The Hutchins are a great dairy family. That is clearly reflected in their pride and care for their herd and their products. I am so excited and inspired by their success in the short amount of time they have been running Spokane Family Farm. I can't wait to see where their venture takes them. Obviously great places with some Guernsey milk in the tank now! ;-)

Since we were "in the neighborhood", we drove a little further north to visit with the Stauffer's. I had "met" Krista online as she started her agvocacy with her blog The Farmer's Wifee. If you aren't following her there, you should check out her facebook page as well. Being a fellow Darigold producer and Northwesterner we had followed each other for a while. We got to meet up at the Agchat Conference in January and it was great to meet her in person.

Even better to get to visit her at her farm. They run a mixed herd of Jerseys, Holsteins and crosses. Beautiful farm, nestled in the foothills with obviously happy and well cared for cows. It was great to get an inside look at their operation and catch up with each other.

I have to laugh, because it seems to be true for every dairy farmer, if you are going on "vacation" or a trip somewhere, you always look for farms you can stop at along the way. Dairy farmers are always learning and looking for ways to improve our own operations. Seeing other farms and talking with other farmers is a amazing way to not only build friendships, but share and grow knowledge.

Time and time again as I walk away from new farms I am always impressed with the common cause of healthy and happy animals. Dairy farmers truly do love their cows and this lifestyle. Your milk production is in good hand folks!

So who will we visit next!