First Generation Dairy Farmer

I’m Lacy Gray with Washington Ag Today.

Krista Stauffer, wife, mother of three and Washington dairy farmer, recently traveled to New York City where she and three other “women in ag” represented Common Ground and farmers across the United States while doing radio, television, and other news outlet interviews about farmers and ranchers, and why what they do on a daily basis is so important. I caught up with Krista upon her return and even though she had already done over 25 interviews during the trip she was more than happy to do one more about herself and her husband, who are first generation dairy farmers.

STAUFFER: My husband - he’s always wanted to be a dairy farmer - so, in 2008 he decided that was the time that he needed to make that happen so he went and got his FSA loan and searched for a farm.

As it happens a family of a dairy farmer who had passed away in a car wreck knew of their search for a farm and contacted Stauffer’s husband.

STAUFFER: And he moved over here from the west coast to the east coast to start his farm. On the way over he purchased cows, and had like a week or two to actually get the farm ready for the cows. So, it has been a whirlwind ride. I met him just a few months after he moved over here; we were married the following year.

And if that isn’t amazing in and of itself, Stauffer freely admits that farming was all new to her.

STAUFFER: I actually was raised in like a logging community; so the only thing I really knew of a dairy farm was this dairy that we had to drive by going to and from school. When I met him it was all new to me and it was amazing.

Tomorrow Stauffer will be back to talk about the ups and downs of being first generation dairy farmers and why there’s no other place she would rather be.

That’s Washington Ag Today.

I’m Lacy Gray with the Ag Information Network of the West.