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Just Need A Good Cry

Krista Stauffer
Dairy Farm Family Photo

Have you ever had one of those days you know the day that makes you question why you do what you do?! OR maybe you have had one of those days where a hot shower and a good cry is all that sounds good. Well today I had one of those days.

We recently had a cow come fresh & give us two beautiful heifer calves. This cow is a cow that my farmer raised from a baby. She is a gorgeous big black Holstein. Yes, I know I say that all my girls are gorgeous. But she really is. She was doing just fine after she gave birth. Showed no signs of anything wrong. Well we are now on day three of her not being able to stand on her own. She went down with what we believe to be a pinched nerve. Our daily routine includes taking care of her even more so then when she was healthy and able to get around on her own. She requires us to hip lift her, give her lots of vitamins, carry food/water to her and of course give her lots of love!

Tonight I was standing next to her after giving her food and water. I knelt down to give her loves and she placed her head on my lap. Yesterday, she looked amazing. No signs of any weakness(other then not being able to stand). Tonight, she looked at me with sunken red eyes and completely broke my heart. I felt like she was giving up. I stayed there a little longer with tears running down my cheek. I let her know that we were not done trying. I was NOT giving up on her.

I then headed over to the other commodity bin. My new(new to me) calf barn is being built on the other side of the wall from her. I then began to take care of our calves. Two of the calves are getting some special attention and have been the last three days. You see, these two girls are the twin daughters to my down cow.

As I walked out of my calf barn I noticed that my down cow was trying to get up on her front legs. I quickly dropped my buckets and ran over. She still couldn’t get her back legs to work quite right. I smiled to myself, even though she couldn’t quite get it. She was TRYING. I gave her some more loves and she used my leg reach an itch between her ears. She licked me and I went on my way.

It is hard to see the good in the midst of  all the bad. It is hard to pick yourself up when you feel defeated. It’s just plain hard to raise these animals and then lose them.

Tomorrow is a new day. A new life can be brought into this world on the farm and it is very possible a life can be lost. It is the circle of life in which we have hardly any control of. We will get up, we will hip lift our down cow, we will baby her as much as we can, we will make sure she is comfortable, we will push her to try harder, we will take care of her girls, we will love them and we will continue this little thing called life. We may shed some tears, we may get discouraged, we may feel defeated but we will not give in.

We are farmers and this is what we do. We choose this life & we will do our best in everything we do.

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Krista Stauffer

Owner at Stauffer Dairy
Krista didn't grow up on a farm but fell in love with a dairy farmer and now works alongside her husband on their family dairy farm, raising five children. Despite her non-farm upbringing, she embraces farm life, enjoys gardening, and remodeling their farmhouse. She also runs a successful women's boutique, manages social media for local businesses, and serves on the board of a non-profit creamery, showcasing her dedication to entrepreneurship and community service.
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