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To kick off the first episode in Season 5 of Cow-Side Conversations, Paul Mason of Mason’s Chrome View in Chester County, Pennsylvania shares how the details add up on his 500-cow family dairy operation. From unique ways they keep employees engaged with production goals and understanding the “why” behind what they do to calf-raising protocols that have paid dividends, Paul reflects on all the little details and management decisions that are part of dairy farming – and how he finds balance between being content but never satisfied. He shares some of the new technology he has implemented on the cropping side with variable rate application, precision planting and zone sampling to optimize their acreage with the future in mind. Paul also opens up about how he has used grants to jumpstart capital investments on his farm and build buffer into the dairy business.

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“When you look at innovation, what can you do to your daily tasks to automate them, simplify them, and make them labor-friendly and super easy? That’s where it’s at – your daily tasks.”

In this episode of Cow-Side Conversations, Josh Waddell of Apple Shamrock Farms LLC in Northwestern Pennsylvania talks about what innovation truly looks like – and how finding labor savings within daily tasks often gets forgotten on dairy farms. He shares some of the technology he utilizes on a daily basis and innovative decisions he has made to save on labor and drive efficiency. These include a three-cell lagoon system and sand lane system that helps reduce mechanization and labor costs by pumping manure versus hauling it. Josh also talks about the Afimilk cow monitoring system and feed tracking data he uses to make sure he’s milking the right cows, a coherent group calving system and bedded pack barn he built for springer cows, and the unique system he developed for group housed, free choice fed calves.

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We all know that on a dairy farm, it’s very easy to go from zero to 50 in the blink of an eye – but nothing is more important than saving a life or preventing an injury. In this episode of Cow-Side Conversations, Matt Carr, a third-generation dairy farmer from Westmoreland County, opens up about a farm safety accident where he lost the fingers on his left hand. He describes how quickly the accident happened, what the physical and mental recovery process was like, and the lessons he learned through the incident. Their dairy operation is a true family business with some additional Spanish-speaking employees. Matt shares how developing clear protocols for their workforce, while always remembering to have fun, is one of their top priorities. He also compares running a dairy business to the years he spent running marathons – and shares how keeping your mind in the right spot is key to working toward your goals.