re: ‘God-Awful Work’ of Milking Cows on Dairy Farms

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Speaking of words…

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Inapt words. It is in no way similar to slavery. There is no compulsion. It is simply a poor simile.

I grew up on a dairy farm and I guess it was hard work. That farm has been in my family for multiple generations. My grandpa, dad, and I were all born there. We didn’t know anything else but farming. Compared to what other people my age did, sure, it was “hard” work but it’s more of a lifestyle than anything. We never had a parlor or automatic take offs on our machines. It was a stanchion barn and we had to move the milk machines around ourselves when a cow was done.

Certain things were worse to do than others but all in all there’s nothing about it that makes me think it’s “God awful work.” The dairy cows have all been sold and now it’s just a cash crop business until we can update a few things to raise beef. I can’t pull into my parents’ driveway without my eyes and ears perking up like I’m a border collie and it doesn’t take long before I’m doing something. Any job I’ve had since I went away to college three decades ago has had others marveling at how busy and focused I can stay citing a different work ethic than they have experienced before. When you had to get up at 4am before school when you were 12 to thaw pipes out as the result of a Wisconsin winter or climb up a silo in the dark when it’s -20 as a preteen it gets ingrained in you that there’s always something that needs to be done. If I didn’t do those things as a kid the cows couldn’t drink or eat. If they didn’t eat or drink they’d die. If they died then there goes the family income. It had to get done and it sounds like it sucked but it really didn’t. The positive impact it had on me is anything but “God awful.”

Ok Gen. Custer.