����vlog

When people's eyes just get big and they light up and they realize, “these cows are amazing creatures!” That's probably some of my favorite times. It's just watching people have their first interactions. There's something special and magnificent about dairy cows. New Day Dairy is a fifth generation dairy farm in northeast north central Iowa. We have about 120 cows that are milked by “Rita the robot” and attached to the barn, we also have a guest barn where people can come and sleep with the cows and cow gaze. Families can come and stay overnight and see what it's like to stay in the farm. So, animal care is top of mind all of the time. We actually built the barn with the cows in mind for their comfort. Our barn, it's a free stall barn, is what we call it. And that means they get to kind of choose wherever they want to go, whenever they want to go. It's a pretty sweet life, actually. They get to basically eat, sleep, chew their cud and go get milked. There's a lot to being a farmer. It takes a lot to take care of an animal. I love dairy cows and so I think that's a great place to start, is that you do have to care for that animal every day, throughout the whole day. We know each one of our cows. And so even those 120 and that can sound like a lot. Each one of those cows is still an individual with an individual name or an individual number. And so it's. How do you care for a cow, meet all her needs, give her that perfect day, every day? Yeah, we do it our best. My husband Dan is a musical. He has a guitar in the robot room, and so he pulls that down and plays guitar. It might be for the cows. I think it's probably just as much for him. When I'm training cows or just get a moment, just grab the guitar, noodle around a little bit and just take a breath, just kind of mentally and maybe in the depths of my soul, not just kind of physically. So, it's good. Any time that you are caring for anything in a way that is kind and compassionate, it’s going to respond to that better. And so I think that's, you know, what music therapy really does for Dan is it allows him to be in a better mental state, which then, you know, does in turn help the cows. Cows are very sensitive creatures, especially dairy cows. And so cows that are doing well are obviously cared for well. There's no shortcuts to caring for dairy cows. I think the most rewarding aspect of being a farmer is knowing that you are providing something for the world. So, as we milk our cows, we're taking care of them and ensuring that they get the best care possible, which in turn allows them to create milk, which turns into ice cream and cheese and yogurt and all of those amazing things which then turns around and feeds the world. Whether it's our neighbors nearby or folks all the way across the world, it's really amazing to be able to know that we're part of that. I mean, I don't think that you could be a farmer who is working day in and day out with those animals without having a special care and love for them. We do this because we do love the cows. We do love feeding the world. So, I think that's definitely something that people want to have as their farmers.