#FarmFeatureFriday

Today I was over on The Farmer’s Wifee, taking over her Instagram and Facebook accounts for #FarmFeatureFriday. A fun feature where she highlights a different farm every Friday. I thought it would be helpful to share the days’ posts here with you all! If you aren’t already make sure you are following along on your favorite social to not miss out on more regular posts, as my blog tends to get neglected! You can find me on Facebook and Instagram almost daily.

Make sure you don’t miss a part of the story!

Hi Everyone! I’m Darleen and I share our dairy story here on Instagram and Facebook as @guernseydairymama. I’m looking forward to sharing our farm with you today during #FarmFeatureFriday! I’m a third generation dairy farmer from Oregon. My husband and I farm in partnership with my parents and our two little farm boys round out our completely family run crew. Here at Abiqua Acres – Mann’s Guernsey Dairy we milk 95 beautiful brown and white Guernsey Ladies and are unique in being one of the few 100% registered Guernsey herds in the nation. I always say dairy farming is a lifestyle choice. I couldn’t imagine any other life, as we are three generations working together everyday with amazing animals to produce a nutritious product. I am proud to be a dairy farmer.

#FarmFeatureFriday

With our top priority being cow care at Abiqua Acres we were fortunate enough to build a new barn recently for our Ladies. Just 2 and half months ago we moved our cows into a 6 row free flow robotic facility. Our Ladies are free to move around the free stall barn as they wish and set their own schedule for the day. Eating, drinking, getting milked or visiting the cow brush for a back scratch. In a robotic barn the milking stall is available 24 hours a day and the cows choose when they wish to be milked, at least two times a day. The transition to this new method of dairy farming is going very well for our herd and family. We are excited for the future with robotic milking as it gives our dairy lifestyle more flexibility in how we can manage the time in our day with not being tied down to a two time a day milking schedule as we were before. ~ @guernseydairymama

#FarmFeatureFriday

Farm and family life are one in the same when you are part of an industry that works 365 days a year. I couldn’t imagine raising my boys any other way then right beside us every day. Three generations together daily through the miracles and heartaches. Every day is an opportunity for learning, adventure and hands on experience. Cultivating the next generation with respect and love for our Ladies, caretakers of the environment and a healthy appreciation for the accomplishments of putting in a hard days work. We also manage to have a lot of fun and gain many priceless memories along the way. This style of family life is one of the big reasons I decided to continue dairy farming, I couldn’t imagine raising a family any other way. ~ @guernseydairymama

There is such passion, heart and soul within the dairy industry. For myself personally I can’t quite explain the pride that comes from carrying on a legacy started by my Great Grandparents. That is what helps to fuel my passion through the daily of this dairy lifestyle. It’s not an easy life and heart and soul are rooted in hard work. When you see that hard work pay off in healthy productive cows that can take feed and convert it into an amazingly nutritious product of milk, it’s an awesome feeling of accomplishment. The rewards of this family business go way beyond the end product, but there is so much passion in every load of milk that leaves our farm. ~ @guernseydairymama

Thanks for joining me and our dairy farm for #FarmFeatureFriday. It’s been fun to share with you a little about myself and our farm. I hope you will follow along with me on Instagram, Facebook or on my blog www.guernseydairymama.com. I enjoy sharing our dairy lifestyle on @guernseydairymama as a way to bring our farm story to you! Cheers, I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at our farm, family and beautiful bovine Ladies ~ Darleen