Women in Dairy: Abbey Opland

Tell us about your family and farm. My family consists of me; my husband, Matt; and our two kids, Rhett and Kinsley. We farm alongside Matt’s dad, Aaron, on a 320-acre farm tucked into a valley where we milk roughly 60 cows of every major breed in a tiestall barn. Our farm was founded in 1892 by the Opland family, with Matt and me being the fifth generation to farm here. In addition to dairy farming, we also raise dairy show cattle that we exhibit at several national shows each year. The farm is named Rockview Farms but houses animals that are both Rockview animals (our colored breeds) and those that belong to the prefix I started, MT Holsteins (Holsteins and Jerseys). Before Matt and I met, I had never seen a dairy cow in real life. I am originally from rural Illinois, and all I knew were corn and beans, but mostly corn. It didn’t take long for me to fall in love with raising cows and showing them. It started with a single Brown Swiss fall calf at a local show and just spiraled from there. In 2023, I started MT Holsteins in honor of my mom and dad, Michelle and Tom Lewis, who both watch over us from heaven. Sadly, my mom passed before I got into the dairy industry, but the last place I got to see my dad before he passed was the Wisconsin State Fair. He had come up to help us with the kids and cattle during the open dairy show, as he had done at many of our shows. He always used to say he’s never seen anyone work so hard and still call it fun. He still showed up with a smile on his face anytime we asked him to help. He was one of our biggest supporters. His absence was felt so deeply at every show following that, so I knew that creating MT Holsteins and giving that prefix to every Holstein calf born on our farm from that point forward would be a great way to honor my mom and dad.

What is a typical day like for you on the dairy? It is so hard to describe a typical day on the farm because, for me, outside of milking twice a day, 365 days a year, each day varies greatly. Some days, we’re cleaning pens; some days, we’re baling hay. Every day is a little different, but they’re all busy. I enjoy the days when I get to drive machinery or haul cattle, as I was a heavy equipment operator before becoming a dairy farmer. The thing that always remains the same is that, wherever I am, whatever I’m doing on the farm that day, my kids are always by my side. It has been our goal to involve them in our day-to-day operations as much as possible.

What decision have you made in the last year that has benefited your farm? In the last year, I’ve made a lot of big decisions about where we are going with our breeding program. I’ve purchased several high-type animals out of well-known sires and dams and done a lot of embryo work to help improve the overall type and production of our herd. We also made the decision to breed the lower end of our herd to beef bulls to increase profitability and preserve the genetics we want to see in our herd in the future. I’ve also made a point to travel to many different sales, shows and dairy events to network and learn as much as I can from others who have been in our shoes as young dairy farmers and paved their own way in the show industry.

Tell us about your most memorable experience working on the farm. I can’t think of a grand memorable experience that has happened on the farm, but rather endless numbers of little moments. We announced that we were expecting our son with a photograph of Matt and me holding a “farm help on the way” onesie in the pasture, surrounded by the cows. Every memorable moment since then has just been watching our children on the farm, growing their own love for the cows and the dairy industry. I love seeing them smile from ear to ear when they get to ride on the tractor with their dad or in the skid loader with their grandpa, or when they get to help lead and show cattle. Our son, Rhett, was leading our Brown Swiss cows back and forth to the parlor at World Dairy Expo when he was just 2 years old; that probably tops the charts for one of my favorite memories. He is 4 now, but it’s amazing how even our biggest cows turn into big puppy dogs when he’s on the halter.

What have you enjoyed most about dairy farming or your tie to the dairy industry? What I enjoy most about dairy farming is having a profession that allows me to work alongside my husband and kids every day.

What is your biggest accomplishment in your dairy career? I think my biggest accomplishment would either be that we had one of our cows win a class at a national show and make it to the top 10 in her class at World Dairy Expo, or that the cow I purchased to be the foundation of MT Holsteins has been maximum scored every lactation thus far.

What are the things you do to promote your farm or the dairy industry? I mostly promote our farm when we show at the national shows. We have banners, shirts and signage, of course, but we promote ourselves best by showing who we really are. We always strive to be helpful and friendly to our neighboring strings at shows. We have gained so many friends, mentors and business partners this way. I’ve found the best way for me to promote the dairy industry is by just sharing our honest, firsthand experiences of life as a dairy farmer. I post a lot on Facebook and am always open to answering questions and talking about the dairy industry to anyone who will listen. I’ve found that, being from a place where dairy farms aren’t common, most people get their limited knowledge about them from news articles or commercial tourism farms. It tends to give them a skewed version of what life on the farm, and dairy farmers themselves are really like. I think it’s good for people to see and hear about what is actually taking place.

What advice would you give another woman in the dairy industry? My only advice for other dairy women would be to just keep putting one foot in front of the other. Oftentimes, we’re required to wear a lot of different hats, and it can be challenging to balance it all. Just know that, even on your worst days, you’re doing an amazing job.

What is a challenge in the dairy industry you have faced and how did you overcome it? There are often a lot of challenges in the dairy industry, but I think the biggest one I’ve faced is learning how to work cows with my husband and still like each other at the end of the day. It’s a fine art, and I like to think we’ve mastered it — most days.

When you get a spare moment, what do you do? Spare moments are a bit rare in the dairy industry, but if I do get one, I really enjoy horseback riding or spending it with my kids. We love to go camping, swimming and all things outdoors together.