Women in Dairy: Cheryl Urbanek

Tell us about your family and farm. I farm with my husband, Dale; my son, Ryan; and his wife, Sarah. We farm on 523 acres. We milk 70 cows in a tiestall barn. We grow corn, alfalfa and oats.

What is a typical day like for you on the dairy? Each day is different on the farm. I start my day at 4:30 a.m. by going to the barn to help with milking, feeding calves, cleaning mangers, washing milkers and bookkeeping. At 6:30 a.m., I come to the house to make breakfast and get ready to go to my own beauty shop by 8:30 a.m. I work there until around 5 p.m. Sometimes, I help with the night milking. Then, I need to make a meal for the family.

What decision have you made in the last year that has benefited your farm? We are installing new comfort mats in the stalls for better cow comfort.

Tell us about your most memorable experience working on the farm. The most memorable experience is raising our three children on the farm, watching them grow in appreciation of life on the dairy farm and developing a good work ethic.

What have you enjoyed most about dairy farming or your tie to the dairy industry? Working alongside my husband and kids.

What is your biggest accomplishment in your dairy career? Keeping the farm in the family. It has been in the Urbanek family for 155 years.

What are things you do to promote your farm or the dairy industry? I talk about farming with others as much as I can and sometimes post about it as well.

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 and keep a positive outlook. Oftentimes, we are required to wear many hats, and it can be challenging to balance them all.

What is a challenge in the dairy industry you have faced and how did you overcome it? Keeping true to the family farm values while the technology in the dairy industry continues to change.

When you get a spare moment, what do you do? In my spare moments, I like to spend time with our kids, Ryan, Casey and Carrie, and granddaughter, Lily. I also enjoy cross stitching and doing word-find puzzles.