The Faber family is hitting the Oregon Trail, dodging typhoid fever, cholera and dysentery.
For those readers who don’t think Social Security will be around for them when they retire, this is a reference to the popular computer game Oregon Trail. The gaming options for we seniors were Oregon Trail, Minesweeper or Tetris.
But in all seriousness, we made the decision to shut down our dairy in Washington and move the cows to Oregon. A decision that wasn’t easy but made sense. We have long admired the Tillamook Creamery for their cheese and ice cream, and wanted to join the 50-some other owners who provide milk to make some of the best products in the world. If you enjoy Tillamook’s products, you are in some small way supporting me and my family. If you don’t like me or my articles and really enjoy Tillamook products, I have some terrible news for you.
Of course, nothing in life is easy. On the day we were scheduled to move the cows, there were supposed to be new rules and regulations released regarding the transport of cattle in response to the avian influenza. After consulting our state vet, we felt like expediting the expedition would be most expedient. So we loaded up the cows and headed out.
The best part of driving cows through the cities of Seattle and Portland is: The local belief there is that cows are indeed people, and driving in the carpool lane is acceptable.
The new facility is a parallel parlor, and our cows called a herringbone home all their life. If you ever have the chance to milk new cows in a parallel parlor for the first time, don’t. Just call in sick, call in dead. In fact, there is a Biblical reference to getting cows into a parallel parlor and that is the act of getting a camel through the eye of a needle. We had to push, pull, cajole, carouse. Every. Single. Cow. Into. The. Parlor.
I am happy to report, however, that after two weeks, the cows have become accustomed to the new setup and life is getting better. Starting up a dairy that wasn’t milking cows always comes with unique challenges. It has been a busy but rewarding experience.
We as Westerners love to take in Chinese philosophy. As one Chinese philosopher once said, “May you live in interesting times.” It’s a little bit of a wry take on life. Looking back over the last decade, we have seen many interesting events – from shutting down global economies to printing money to inflation. Through all of these, we have to take constant assessments of our dairy businesses as we navigate the uncertainties and challenges that come from “interesting times.”
Shifting all of our cows to Oregon is one of those moves that should help set us up for long-term success. It’s also interesting how change seems to be the scariest thing. However, there may be more downside and risk in doing the same thing we have always done.
I’ll finish off with another Chinese parable:
A farmer and a son had a beautiful stallion which made them a lot of money. A neighbor yelled to them across the fence, “What amazing luck you have to have a horse like that!” To which the farmer said, “Maybe so, maybe not.”
The son was riding the stallion the following week and got thrown off, breaking his leg. The ever-observant neighbor said, “What terrible luck you have to break your leg.” To which the farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not.”
The next week, the national army came through, picking up every able-bodied young man to go to a far-off war. They skipped over the farmer’s son because of his broken leg. To which the neighbor, being loaded into a bus, yelled, “What great luck you have to break your leg!” To which the farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not.”
It is important to look at life as a totality and not look at one event as either good or bad. The thing we think of today as being bad may actually be a blessing tomorrow. Stay nimble, and if you’re ever driving cows through Seattle, use the carpool lane.
