How do YOU define Yourself?

How Do YOU Define Yourself    Lizzie Velasquez at TEDxAustinWomen



I LOVE this TED Talk! I am a big fan of TED Talks!  I can be a TED Talk junky some nights!   This particular one really spoke to me! When I was brainstorming the title for this blog I wanted something that was specifically me, about what I stand for and how I would describe my soul.  After some serious thought, one day, Dairy Woman Strong came to me...it is how I define myself.



In my life I have faced my share of adversity, surely not as much as this young woman Lizzie Velasquez, but I have had my share.  I am completely amazed at the strength of this woman.  Instead of feeling sorry for herself she took her situation, made the best of it and used adversity as accelerant for her goals and passions.  What a great example for all of us!  She didn't allow her situation or conditions define her or limit her.  Her possibilities are endless.



I am a woman, in a man's world.  Even in this day in age, women are not always treated with the same amount of respect as a man in agriculture.  I find it hilarious when a salesman would approach me asking for the man of the farm or to see my father or husband.  Where did it say this farm is run by a man? Where did it say that I was second in command?  Where did it say I just worked on this farm?  I also find it interesting in the professional world of agriculture, how many times someone scoffed at me because I was a woman trying to tell a man how to run their business or make it better.  I was once told my emotions would make me weak and less influential.  Interesting...I think my emotions as a woman are a strength not a weakness. Those instances in my journey could've made me bitter, they could've made me feel small or insignificant, but my parents taught me better than that. 



My parents, both my mother and my father, instilled in me the importance of knowing and loving who I was.  I was bullied in grade school, made fun of in high school, and picked on a little in college....I was the smart girl with the big dreams of becoming a farmer of all things.  Every time someone challenged me be saying I couldn't....I fought back harder, just to prove that I could.  Maybe it's the competitive nature of my personality or the fact that I am a first born, but I have always tried my best and my hardest to get what I am really passionate about.  And for me as an adult woman....I am passionate about God, dairy, farming, and family.  I know who I am and I know what defines me....so the question is...what defines YOU?  I define me....I am writing MY definition!

Giving Back....

I am working on training materials for the county dairy princess program this week.  It's hard to believe it's the time of year again.  It always creeps up on me so quickly.  I start in this program as a freshman in high school.  I had no idea what I was getting involved with, just that I had some good 4-H friends that did it and the swore it was worth my time.  Little did I know that I was going to be joining the ranks with some of the greatest women in agriculture that we will ever know.  Many of these women are farming with their spouses, some are farming with their families, and many are working in the ag industry, but one thing remains the same, we are all giving back.  The one common thread among all of the dairy women that I have met through the princess program is their passion to give back to an industry that gave us so much.  We were all so lucky to have the opportunities that we had as dairy farmers' daughters and employees.  We learned a strong work ethic, responsibility, drive, determination, honesty, wholesomeness, and most of all passion.  It was the ambassador program that helped me realize my passion for dairy and it is through the ambassador program that I was able to give back on behalf of dairy...and now I am hopefully training the next generation of young women who will also give back. I can only hope that these young women will be even greater than my generation of women ag leaders....I have high hopes because they don't even realize how skilled they already are.  It's an exciting time of year with lots of possibilities...here's to giving back to my next generation of dairy women leaders!

Why am I Dairy Woman Strong?

Well, this is my first blog post on my new blog....Dairy Woman Strong.  I brainstormed for a long time what I wanted to re-brand my blog as...and for some reason I kept getting drawn to these 3 words.  These 3 words individually, or together describe all that is me and my passion for life.  I was proudly born and raised on a dairy farm where I learned so much about who I was and what I wanted out of life.  I gain a love of family, God, cows and the land.  I learned to appreciate the little things and life and to not take one day for granted.  I also knew in my heart what I was called to do.  I have a passion and determination for dairy that is almost insane.

Woman is an obvious one...I am a Proud woman in agriculture.  As the oldest child in my family, my father raised me to know that anything the boys could do I could also do.  There were contests to see who could stack the most bales between my dad and I and he taught me to care for cows and tend the land.  When I entered college I learned quickly that I am not alone.  Women are taking in roles in agriculture, where men had been the primary leaders...women are standing up and being recognized.  I will also note that I come from a long line of farm women...my mother, both my grandmothers and so on and so forth...so I a proud Woman in Ag!

Strong...this one I am learning as I go in life.  I have been knocked around and thrown curve balls that I never saw coming.  It has been my faith in God and my family and friends that have provided me the strength to cry when I am weary, ask for help when I am weak and lift myself back up and keep on my journey.  Strong is not a matter of being tough, strong is not being mean, strong isn't becoming invincible...It is only when we become truly weak, admit our mistakes, reach out to humanity, then we finally find our true strength....I hope to share my journey of faith and passion as I try to be he strong woman that I am called to be. 

God Bless you all and enjoy Dairy Woman Strong!!

The Importance of Listening..

I was scrolling through my comments for this blog for the past 2 years, then I read through some of my previous blog posts.  I started this blog with the intention of educating consumers about my love of dairy farming and the importance of agriculture and food.  As I was reading I could see my passion shine through, however I noticed a certain "defensive" tone to my writing.  Maybe it's age or maybe it's experience, but I think now I can see with greater clarity the importance of listening and that was very evident in the comments that I was reading.  Many of the comments that I read today were very angry and very inappropriate.  I stick firmly by my personal rules to not engage in conversation with those who cannot be polite and civil when expressing their opinions, but perhaps I was also guilty of jumping to some prejudgments and defending my opinion without actually listening to a differing opinion in it's entirety.  I also realize how important it is to agree to disagree.  I should make it completely known that I am not against Vegan diets, organic agriculture, or anything different than what happens on our farm.  I believe in the freedom of choice, I just hope that those choices are made with a full understanding of all of the facts. And the way we all get understanding is through listening...so maybe this blog's purpose is shift towards engaging in a productive conversation about practices on our farm and many other farms and how that impacts the diets of so many people.  The way that we can make this conversation is through active listening....so I'm listening, feel free to leave and comment and hopefully my readers will also listen too.

Increase the Dose....

I saw this quote the other day, and while it pertains to life, I found it to be particularly important for dairy farming as well: " A Physician once said the best medicine for humans is love. Someone asked him what if that doesn't work? He smiled and said....Increase the Dose!"

The same can be said about cows and calves on a dairy farm.  We have emergency veterinarian care at the dial of a phone, medicine on hand for almost any possible ailment, skilled employees to find sick cows and we feel prevention is the best cure.  Even with all of the technology and medicine, the best medicine we can give is our love for our animals.

The other day one of our employees came to the rescue of a cow having her calf.  The calf was 45 days premature.  While the calf was born early, it was alive, and that little bull calf fought with all of his might to stay alive.  We worked hard to give him the very best care that we could.  With as much love as possible, we fed him multiple small meals each day.  We gave him medicine to help his lungs develop and antibiotics to keep away any infections.  As hard as we tried, however, Mother Nature was not on our side.  This little guy was born without the ability to pass manure.  As much love as we gave him, we knew that he wasn't going to make it.  At two and a half days of age, the little bull passed away.  I can't help it, every time I lose a little calf, I cry, even if there was nothing I could do, other than increase the dose of love that they received.  With all the wonders of modern medicine and technology, we will still have sick animals and we will still lose some calves, but at the end of the day I know that I gave the best medicine first...love, and if that didn't work, well I always increase my dose.