June Dairy Month continues with a stop in Pulaski at the Owen Farm, owned and operated by Dave and Jamie Owen.
Both Dave and Jamie lived on farms growing up, and took over their current farm, which belonged in Dave’s family. The majority of the farm work is provided by the Owens, who say there’s always work to be done.
“During the week, it’s just Dave and I, so we get the cows milked and he does all of the feeding,” Jamie said of their roles. “I do all of the milking and the rest of the chores we try to split up. There can be newborn calves, sick cows, or everything can go great and we can be home by 8:00 p.m., or it can be 11:00 or later. Then at 4:00 at night we start it all over and hope to be home by 7:00 p.m.”
Dave adds the farm has undergone a few minor expansions, but their operation keeps them busy.
“We got away from using the silos so much and went to feed on piles and did some additions on the barn,” he said. “We milk 60 cows, have about 60 young stock. We crop 250 acres between here and Jamie’s dad’s farm, mostly hay, corn and soybeans.”
Farming keeps the Owen family busy, but they still manage to find time to have fun by showing their animals in the summer.
“Our big thing is showing cattle, so that’s what our vacations are for our kids,” Jamie said. “They go down to the state fair for a week, we do our local county fair, district show, some years state show. That’s our fun.”
When it comes to the future, there are a some things the Owens are eying for improvements.
“We’d probably buy a few good cows and I’d probably put a calf barn up,” Dave said.
“Well I want that calf barn, so I’m not feeding calves in the rain,” Jamie laughed.
We’ll continue to visit in with are farmers all summer long in celebration of June Dairy Month.