The last time I blogged, which was admittedly, many months ago; I was writing from the home office on a 3500 cow dairy farm in Central Utah where I was managing the recently re-acquired calf ranch for some wonderful fellow New England transplants . Flash forward 3000 miles, 4 months, several cow shows, and a new job later, and you'll find me writing from my new apartment in Western New York where I now reside in a county with 160 dairy farms- that's more than the entire state of New Hampshire!
The transition back to NY and a shiny new job in the dairy industry has me wondering at times if I wont end up back in Utah sooner or later- those calves, western mountains and some amazing people sure stole my heart- but for now, I'm enjoying the closer proximity of my friends, family and my pretty brown cows.
The new position that I have taken is a direct result of the excitement in NY over growing yogurt and cheese demand, and trying to ensure that dairy farms in WNY are given every resource to help them improve profitability and long-term viability. Since it's a newly created job, I've spent the past two months sorting out a plan of attack and developing relationships with some of the key players already serving dairy farmers in the region. A big part of my job is going to be finding the farms that want help developing long-term plans and goals for their dairy business, and connecting them with the vet/nutritionist/cow comfort specialist/nutrient management planner/lender/extension educator who will help bring their plans to reality. I've enjoyed meeting so many people and getting a handle on the needs of NY dairy farmers, but I'm beyond ready to get out on to farms again and actually feel like I'm doing something helpful! The pace of a new state job where I'm trying to build momentum is very different than the pace of working on that dairy out west!
When I'm on the job, which feels like a lot more time than I had while working with calves, I'm settling into this cool little town I've moved to- which at the moment is intensely decorated with Christmas lights- and visiting friends as much as possible. There are also the cows in NH, including the March calf out of one of my favorite cow families (the BoJoy Gretchen daughters!!!!) and my homebred heifer (the pretty girl pictured below) that is due in a week or two with her first calf! Get excited, there will be pictures!
So the downside is I won't have any fun calf stories anymore, but I will share the trials and (hopefully) successes as this new job gets rolling, and I'm sure some recap on the joys of being a single 20-something in a small town in rural upstate NY.
Oh, and fair warning to anyone with a dairy in western NY- you'll probably be hearing from me. Or I may just show up to pet your calves. Gotta get my fix.
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