Bobbi Harrold Frost walked methodically around the sprawling acres of
her Oregon land, taking in the familiar sight. Her cows mooed and the
calves lay in their hutches; the heifers gathered together as they
rhythmically chewed their feed, and the pregnant cows lazily rested in
the barn nearby. Frost grew up on this farm, a meticulously kept place
with a vista of golden fields that goes on for miles. She has seen the
changes it’s been through in her lifetime. She and her peers are well
aware of the changes that came before her and the ones that will likely
come in the future.
Only 25, Frost isn’t what many think of as the “typical” farmer. But
she was born into the business and has become a prominent face in the
Creswell, Oregon, farming community, where she owns (in partnership with
her father) Harrold’s Dairy Farm.
Frost is among a niche group of millennials, 20- and 30-somethings,
who are turning to farming. Some carry on traditions that have been
passed down through the generations and some are new to the business.
But all are adding new and innovative twists to the age-old industry
along the way. In Frost’s case, it was her great-grandfather who founded
the family farm in 1946 with only 12 cows on his land. Today, the farm
has expanded exponentially since its inception and milks 450 cows.
Frost is an expert when it comes to raising cows on her more-than 200
acres of Oregon land. She speaks easily and intelligently about local
agriculture, organic and conventional farming practices, laws and
regulations surrounding the industry, and the science and medicine
behind taking care of her animals.
“I think a lot of times when people think of a farmer, they think of
an old man in overalls with a piece of straw hanging out of his mouth,
but that’s certainly not the case -- at least not anymore,” said Frost.
“There is a disparity of expectation and reality in farming these days
in general.”
Frost earned her B.S. in Animal Science at Oregon State University
three years ago before returning home to Creswell to join her family
full-time in running the farm. Last year, she married, and after her
husband returned from his deployment in Afghanistan, he joined her on
the farm where they now both work each day.
Industry analysts estimate
that U.S. dairy contributes more than $140 billion in economic output,
$29 billion in household earnings and is responsible for more than
900,000 jobs (based on economic analysis of direct and indirect economic
impact of U.S. dairy from farm through processing).
But despite the lucrative and influential business, the industry
faces major changes. Almost half of people in dairy farming management
positions will be of retiring age within the next 15 years. So to keep
up with demand for milk and dairy products, more farmers, including
millennials, are needed to step up to the task.
In response to the need, the U.S. government created several programs
to entice potential young farmers, including the Agriculture Act of
2014, where an extra $20 million a year will be pumped into USDA
beginner farmer and rancher programs.
“It’s certainly a lifestyle,” said Frost. “You really have to love
it.” She added that her great-grandfather lived until he was 94, and
worked on the farm up until the last 18 months of his life.
But how does a recent college graduate rationalize a return to the
farm? What does this tell us about the state of a modern American
economy and the opportunities presented to young people? One might
expect the typical millennial life portfolio of student loans, job
search engines, social media, and a near constant barrage of lucrative,
city-centric tech and service sector occupations to influence the
decisions facing aspirational agriculturalists. Why would a talented,
educated, entrepreneurial young person like Bobbi opt for a dairy over,
say, daycare and a matched 401k?
“Health insurance and weekends off sounded enticing while I was in
school for a little while, but the farm was always calling me back,” she
said. But a return to the earth doesn’t mean a return to obscurity.
In fact, Frost argued that it is science and technology in general
that allows farmers to get back to a simpler way of life. As more young
people become a part of the farming industry’s leadership, more
technology is being brought into the field (literally). “And that’s a
great thing,” Frost said.
Robotic milkers and automatic calf feeders are a few of the items
that Frost uses on a daily basis. Despite both machines being newer
innovations, they have ironically ushered a return to a simpler times.
The machines allow for the cows to eat and get milked when they need to,
not when the farmers’ schedules allow.
“I'm no longer milking cows by hand, but I still use the same care
and attention on those animals as my great grandfather. Our love for our
cows and our land will never change— not in my generation, and
hopefully not for my children, either,” said Frost.
Like most millennials, Frost admits that she “lives and dies” by her
smartphone. Specifically, she points to several dairy-specific apps that
help her keep track of markets and dairy industry news. She also relies
on many organizational apps to keep her workday straight. Calendars,
appointments, and to-do lists are all on her phone.
“I even use my phone a lot when we are working on equipment,” said
Frost. “As someone with not very much mechanical experience, it is a
godsend to be able to get on a forum online and have someone explain to
you how to do what you're doing. That's pretty awesome as a girl to be
able to say that you can fix farm equipment by yourself.”
Urban farming is another new-wave trend to hit the agriculture scene,
with tiny farms and gardens popping up all over American cities. As the
amount of farmable land throughout the world continues to get smaller,
there’s certainly a place for these low-impact agricultural areas, but
on their own they’re not going to feed the world, which will have a
population of about 9 billion people by 2050.
“I always look around while traveling through a city and think about
how there’s a lot of concrete and not a lot of dirt, which you need a
lot of to make food,” Frost continued.
She encourages consumers to consider where their agricultural products are cultivated, and to get to know their local farmers.
These days, transparency is a necessity among people and companies
involved in food production. Even in Frost’s father’s generation, in the
absence of social media and the Internet based watchdog agencies,
expectations were quite different.
“Back then you did your job and nobody asked questions,” she said.
“They just trusted that you were doing your job with as much care as
they were doing theirs.”
So to accommodate these growing public expectations, Frost decided to join the conversation.
“I invest a huge amount of time into telling the story of our farm,”
said Frost, who consistently updates the farm’s Facebook and Instagram
pages so that people can see what is going on everyday. “If I can give
them a little glimpse into what my day is like, I hope that means that
they will trust me that much more. I don't have anything to hide on my
farm and I hope that by being active in social media that attitude will
be apparent.”
Whether a person owns a tiny bit of land with just a couple of
animals or a farm that mass-produces with multiple harvest seasons,
Frost said the great majority of people in the industry are involved
because they love their animals, living off the land, and putting in the
hard work day in and day out. The public learns this by getting to know
local farmers and supporting local, which in turn, supports the
community and creates hundreds of jobs. People also can research local
farms online.
“I think this is a place where we have to make our voices heard,” said Frost.
Posts
