Planting Roots « Back

The arrival of spring is here and I just got off the phone with my father, which made me smile. We recently celebrated at a surprise 70th birthday party for my father, which reunited the county’s retired dairy farmers, neighbors, friends, his five children and 15 grandchildren. It was a day full of love, giggles and celebration.

My father grew up poor, but always had a strong soul and knew he would build a better life. He did just that. He joined the Marines, graduated from Oregon State University (as did I), and owned and operated a dairy farm for nearly 40 years. Through all his successes, he is most proud of his personal ones. He married my mother, an admiral’s daughter, 45 years ago. He is a man that I have always admired and looked up to. I have many great memories of growing up on a dairy farm with my father as our mentor. From the days of cleaning calf pens, to feeding hay to the milk cows, to adding fresh bedding to the cattle during the cold winter months, those were the days!

As a child, I always thought there had to be more to life than dairy cows! My parents never forced me to take interest in the dairy – but they did expect my sisters and me to work hard, and they instilled in us solid values such as strong work ethic, commitment, respect, honesty and loyalty. As I grew older and matured, I realized this was the life I wanted to live.

Now, that I am a parent, I can look back and say thank you. Raising my own family on a dairy farm is nothing shy of hard work, but the rewards are beyond measurement. Watching my children, even at a young age, help feed baby calves, clean pens and bring feed to the animals makes me remember back to the good ol’ days. Besides working side by side as a family – which in today’s day and age is rare – we are instilling the same roots that my own parents gave us many years ago – ones that will prepare my children for whatever their future holds. That alone, makes me proud to be a dairy farmer.