I know it's been a while since I posted here... like over a year ago! A lot of stuff has actually happened in the past 13 months, so that's totally my bad. I've got a new job, outside of the world of television. I'm working for the Southeast Dairy Association, a non-profit promotional organization that works on behalf of 3,100 dairy farmers from 9 states. I'm the Industry Relations Communications Manager, which allows me to leverage my skills in writing and broadcasting. I work with our Dairy Farmer Spokesperson Network and our Scientific Advisory Board. They're basically our industry's voices for the farmers as well as 3rd party dairy industry advocates like university professors, veterinarians and government representatives who can speak to the public about dairy related or agriculture issues. As you might imagine, it was a very steep learning curve, but it's been a wonderful experience so far. I've gotten to meet some of the hardest working, caring, smart, salt-of-the-earth folks you'd ever want to be around. These farmers work 24/7/365 and vacation is practically a foreign word to them. It's made my job that much more meaningful because I know every day that I'm on their side, defending them from a world that is getting less friendly and more accusatory and intrusive than ever. I'm at the 10 month mark and really starting to get the hang of things as I get closer to my first anniversary. As you might have guessed, I actually got a chance to milk a cow by hand and that was one life-changing experience!
Me milking a Jersey at the Blackburn's farm in Tennessee
I'll have to post some of the great pictures that I've been able to take in my visits to other farms around our region. I've had a chance to see several types of dairy operations, from the small farms of fewer than 100 cows, to farms with 1,800 cows and a rotary milker that can hold 72 cows at a time! Pretty unbelievable. It's been a great experience learning how our milk and other dairy products are produced and I gain more and more respect for these independent business owners each and every day. Well, obviously I've got some catching up to do on here, but this is the biggest change in my professional life in the past several years. I've got another major storyline brewing in my personal life that I'll share the next time around.
