I am currently a senior at the State University of New York at Cobleskill, doing a 15-week internship at River Breeze Dairy. How I came about to being in the position I am is a story in and of itself. It first started when I transferred into SUNY Cobleskill. I've been to a lot of different colleges in my life, and I finally ended up here at Cobleskill. I was a junior when I transferred in, and decided to major in their dairy program. While I was in school, I took an assortment of classes that would mold me into what I am today. Classes like Advanced Ruminant Nutrition, Applied Bovine Reproduction, Dairy Cattle Breeding, Dairy Record Management, and Bovine Hoof Care and Maintenance. It is these five classes that have taught me what I need to know in order to be successful in the dairy industry. When I look back at what I learned in class, you never really think that you are going to use it in the real world. Each one of these classes have been so useful in what I am doing now, that it was money well spent. Every week I am meeting with the veterinarian and the nutritionist, and without the classes I look, simple words that these two professionals use would just go right over my head. Now that I took these classes, I am able to go into a lot more depth in conversations that hinder most people.
This summer I am interning on a large dairy in northern New York. I have just finished all of my schoolwork and now being able to put all the knowledge to the test. The farm I am currently on has a little over one thousand milking cows that are all Holstein, and has roughly the same amount of young stock to go along with the milking herd. Life on a dairy this large may sound hectic, but in reality, we have a very set schedule that we do every day of the week. My general role of this internship is basically being the farm's herdsman, and assisting the owners on how they wish they want the farm to run. So far, I have done basically every thing you can think of that happens on a dairy.
We have vet checks once a week, where the veterinarian will come by and do pregnancy checks on some of the cows and heifers, along with doing any additional work that may need their attention. Also, a hoof trimmer will come about every two weeks, and the cows will get their hooves trimmed. For the rest of the week, we do things that are not as exciting as the vet or hoof trimmer. On those days, we are either moving cows, giving vaccinations, drying cows off or treating cows that get sick.
After fifteen weeks of this internship, I am not sure what I am going to do. I have a few options in mind, but nothing is set in stone right now. All I know is that this internship is helping me to get a better understanding on how a large dairy is run from day-to-day, and getting a better at creating and maintaining relations with people in the dairy industry. One day, when I am all done with school and have a decent career under my bed, my overall dream is to own my very own dairy. But for now, that is still a dream. I am just beginning my dairy career, and who knows where it will take me!
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