Dad Plus Dairy = A Happy June

I love that Fathers Day falls during June Dairy Month. My Dad is a fourth generation dairy farmer. All of his brothers were dairy farmers too.  This photo is of my Grandma and Grandpa Brown and their five good looking farmer sons. My Dad, Glen,  is on the far right. A few short years after this picture was taken, my Mom and Dad were married and started a farm of their own.

With much pride and pleasure my Dad got up early every morning to milk and care for the cows. Being the youngest in my family, I got Dad all to myself when my brother and sister went off to school and Mom went to her job off the farm. Riding on Grandpa's John Deere "A" tractor, bottle feeding the calves, eating fried egg sandwiches for lunch, it all seemed fun with Dad.  After a day of work on the farm, it was always family dinner at 5:00.  This was family time to reflect on and appreciate our day. Besides a strong work ethic, I appreciate that Dad  instilled the value of family time in me.

Dad suffered a stroke  nine years ago. He can no longer farm. My family is now his connection to farming. Each day when we talk he wants to know what we did on the farm. "How is planting going? How much rain did you get? How does the hay crop look this year?" He still receives every farming magazine available too, reading them cover-to-cover. The saying goes, "You can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy." Thank goodness! Love you Dad!