Jacob Chapman - Champlainside Farm: Post #1

Hello, my name is Jacob Chapman, I am a graduating from the State University of New York at Cobleskill with my Associates of Applied Science in Diesel Technology and Bachelor of Technology with a concentration in Dairy Farm Management. I am from Montgomery, Massachusetts, a small town with only two farms. My interest in the dairy industry started when I went to a friend's farm and helped milk his cows one evening during chores. Ever since then, I have been interested in learning more and more about this industry, where there are fewer farms now producing more milk than ever before. Today, 97% of the dairy farms in the United States are still family-owned. My future in the dairy industry is highly likely, either working for someone as a herdsman, or starting my own farm milking a few hundred cows. Before I found out about the dairy industry, I was always interested in animals, growing up with a herd of beef cows at home, and the equipment that comes along with the farm life. I first found out about Cobleskill from my friend that I started milking cows and helping about about five years ago, with no interest in high school of going to college. A close friend and I went to take a look at the college, and found it interesting.

For the Bachelor of Technology degree, we students are required to participate in a 600-hour internship with our field of study, meaning that we get a "job" within the field. Mine is on the dairy farm in central Vermont named Champlainside Farm. Established in 1947 in the small town of Bridport, Vermont. A family owned and run farm, started by now retired Tom Howlett, now in ownership with his son, Tim Howlett, milking 530 cows, and the intention of someday expanding. When I first started here at the farm, the herdsman of eight years had given his two weeks notice already, and had for days left, so I followed him around to learn what he did on a day-to-day basis, so that I could take on some of the tasks when he was gone.

As the intern, my day-to-day tasks now include starting work at five in the morning, going to the maternity area, and checking for new baby calves from the night before. If there is a newborn, then I make sure he or she has gotten the essentials like colostrum, that will provide antibodies and nutrients to the newborn. If it's a little girl, she gets her identification ear tags and pill with some extra needed antibodies. After that is done, I clean one of the young stock barns here on the farm, and replace the bedding with clean, fresh bedding for the day. Our cows and heifers that are close to calving are on a sand bedding pack that needs to be tilled daily, so I also do that with a skid steer. Some other tasks that I am involved in here on the farm include feeding the cows every other weekend, driving truck when it's harvest time, and maintenance of some equipment when there is downtime or a need for a quick maintenance item on a machine. The farm has a satellite location about two miles away, where we keep our dry cows and pregnant heifers, so I spend time there during the day cleaning alleys of the barn and checking on the health of the animals.

As for my future, if the boss offered me a job, I would probably take it. The farm here is a nice place, laid back and relaxed work environment, and a good place to gain the experience that I am hoping to use later in life someday when I start my own farm. If farming doesn't work out for me, I am a big fan of driving trucks, and have been ever since I was a little kid. I would dream of someday being behind the wheel of a truck, hauling construction equipment around!