Nearly 18 years ago we hired our first herdsman, Julio. I remember this day well, as he started two days after my daughter, Cassie, was born. She graduates high school in June.
Julio came to us after working at a Nebraska hog operation. He started milking cows for us in 2006, but his role has evolved, and now he spends the majority of his time outside of the parlor.
When my husband, Scott, is gone, Julio runs the operation. He knows cows, our team of employees and our mission. Julio’s values align with ours. Julio dedicates 60-plus hours a week away from his wife and five children to help run our dairy operation.
Julio has got to listen to my husband talk about the challenges that face our dairy and about our dairy’s hopes and dreams. Scott has talked about how he plans to grow our operation and the plan to build a maternity and dry cow barn. Julio has heard Scott talk about this for years and years and finally this spring, it’s coming true. Cows will finally calve in a modern facility. I’m not sure who is more excited, Scott or Julio.
One thing we appreciate about Julio is that during some of our hardest days, he was right by our side. Julio was one of the first guys to show up to work a few hours after a massive fire broke out at our dairy. Nine firetrucks and multiple rescue vehicles lit the way down our gravel lane—and 200-plus heifers were running all around, but Julio never wavered. He put on his rubber boots and rolled up his sleeves with a “what can I do first” attitude and was steadfast in helping us find our normal life again.
That’s the thing we love about Julio. He has always been willing to pivot with whatever the dairy needs from him. He has milked cows, fed calves, bred cows, treated sick cows and calves, trimmed feet and hauled silage wagons, to name a few of his tasks over the years. No job was too small or too big for him. Julio was always willing to lend a helping hand.
Attention to Detail
With a good eye for cows, Julio’s attention to detail allows Scott to put attention elsewhere, when needed - like now with spring fieldwork. Scott wouldn’t be able to put the attention into strategically planning the several expansion projects that we’ve taken on over the last 18 years if it wasn’t for our good team of employees and having Julio as our herdsman.
When I stop in the barn, I’m always greeted by Julio’s big smile, which easily makes my smile stretch wide. And this is a reminder that we all need to be thankful for the good employees we have, especially the good herdsmen and women who help our dairy operations out. Simply put, without the guys and gals like Julio, dairies like ours wouldn’t be able to succeed.
