People often ask what a dairy farmer actually does all day. The honest answer: a little bit of everything, starting well before sunrise.
5:00 a.m. — First milking
The cows know the routine better than we do and are usually waiting at the parlour gate. Milking the whole herd takes about two hours, and every cow gets a quick health check on her way through.
8:00 a.m. — Bottling and the lab
While the milk chills, James runs the morning tests. Once a batch passes, it heads to the bottling line and out on the delivery vans the same day.
Midday — Pasture and calves
- Move the fences for the next paddock.
- Feed and check on the calves.
- Repair whatever broke this week (something always does).
- Show visiting families around the farm.
Afternoon milking starts at four, and the day finishes with a walk round the herd at dusk. It is long work, but there is nothing like seeing the cows settle on fresh grass at the end of a good day.
