This past Tuesday was a day filled with learning about the livestock and dairy industry through not only teaching my middle school courses, but also getting to visit one of my awesome students at her supervised agricultural experience site. Lillian Hetrick is a junior at the Oley Valley School District with a passion for cattle and the dairy industry. She is currently completing a Placement SAE at Wholesome Dairy Farm located in Douglassville, PA. She was employed back in 2019 and has been advancing her skills over the past few years to learn all there is to know about dairy cows.
I got the opportunity to teach Lilly in food science when I student taught my protein unit. She is very interested to learn the science behind how food is grown and processed and is very knowledgeable about milk products. I also got to listen to Lilly’s Senior Prepared speech related to botulism and the importance of safe food canning. Overall, Lilly is very passionate about the world of agriculture and it was a nice opportunity for me to see her exemplify her skills at Wholesome Dairy Farms.
- Lauren
I got the chance to view Lilly’s AET profile and assess her journal entries as she applied for her FFA Proficiency Award. She started off feeding the cows prior to milking, but over time she learned more and more skills and now she sets up the equipment needed for milking and conducts the milking process. She has also learned how to drive and operate a skid-loader which is used for scooping silage and moving grain. Lilly also shared that she has gained communication and problem-solving skills through working on the farm, which are both great skills needed for any future career. Through working on the farm, she has learned the importance of identifying problems and being able to communicate them with her co-workers and boss. She also learned how important it is to be able to learn from your mistakes and problem-solve as needed during the job.
I got to visit Lilly at Wholesome Dairy Farm to see where she works and watch her apply all of the skills she has learned. She started off by giving us a small tour of the newly attached processing garage that was recently built to process any of the milk products that they produce. They market a variety of products such as: milk, yogurt, and kefir. The owner, Mark Lopez, showed us the new equipment he purchased to improve the quality and efficiency of the milk processing. He is very dedicated to ensuring his herd of around 50 grass-fed cows is very healthy and that every aspect is clean and safe for both the consumers and the animals.
Lilly then showed us where she spends most of her time during her shift, which is obviously with the cows! They milk 50 cows, twice a day, which Lilly usually works the afternoon shift once she is done with school. She explained that she always keeps an eye out for any animal welfare concerns such as mastitis or other abrasions on the cow that can affect its health. She also gets to take care of any calves that are born and has learned to work with all various stages of animal development. Lilly showed a passion for her work and really seemed to enjoy being around the cows and taking care of them. Lilly hopes to pursue a career related to either the dairy industry or food science, where I can see her excelling in either in her future.
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