Where are students now? For young professionals like Shara, they are living out their dreams in the dairy industry.
“I knew a lot of the farmers in the area [where I grew up], so I wanted to do something different and meet new people through the On-Farm Internship program. I actually worked on two different dairies up in New York that were bigger, really progressive, and technologically advanced and efficient. I learned a lot of hands-on skills through the internship as far as IV-ing cows and breeding cows, but you really don’t get good at it until you’re doing it every single day. Now, I’m a herd manager and we’re big
enough that I have the opportunity to do those things every day. My role is everything related to health and reproduction of the cows. I treat sick cows, watch transition cows, assist in calvings and breed. Seeing a cow and knowing her life story, or where she’s at in her lactation, is pretty rewarding.”
—Shara Allman, full-time herd manager at S&A Kreider and Sons, a Lancaster County dairy farm