Women in Dairy: Joanna Bakeberg

Tell us about your family and farm. I farm with my husband, Pat, on our dairy farm, Goldview Farms. We milk 120 cows, mostly Holsteins, along with a small herd of registered Brown Swiss. We raise all our youngstock and finish steers for the beef market, along with farming about 800 acres. Pat’s mom continues to help with feeding young calves and provides grandma care for our four young daughters. The girls enjoy helping with calf chores and being busy on the farm.

What is a typical day like for you on the dairy? I am typically out the door by 5 a.m. to feed calves. I spend an hour outside, getting as many calf chores done as I can before heading back to the house to get the kids up. I get the girls on the bus and drop off at Grandma’s or daycare and then head to the barn to help Pat milk most mornings. Once milking is done, I clean up the parlor and milkhouse and feed cows, then go about finishing calf chores. Depending on the day, I grind feed for the steers, heifers or calves. After lunch, I typically work in the office and prep supper for the evening. After evening chores at 4 p.m., we eat supper, and then I work on getting the girls to bed.

What decision have you made in the last year that has benefited your farm? We retrofitted our old calf barn, attached to the freestall barn and parlor, with headlocks for herd checks and vet work. Our freestall barn does not have headlocks, so updating this space to have headlocks has saved us time and made it safer when we need to lock up a sick cow or cows for herd checks.

Tell us about your most memorable experience working on the farm. It would be sharing this way of life with my daughters, especially now that they are getting old enough to show animals and are taking an interest in helping on the farm. It is fun to watch them learn new things and how to take care of the cows.

What have you enjoyed most about dairy farming or your tie to the dairy industry? Even though most days are the same, there are still challenges each day. It’s also a small industry and we are fortunate to have a great group of dairy farmers in our area who are always willing to help each other out.

What is your biggest accomplishment in your dairy career? Taking over the calf program and improving on how things used to be done. We built a new calf barn four years ago and then invested in a Milk Taxi. Through small changes, we have streamlined our calf program and are seeing the results in our young heifers as they calve in. It has been very rewarding to watch a young calf grow through its life and then transition into the milk herd.

What are things you do to promote your farm or the dairy industry?  I serve on the Wright-Carver Breakfast on the Farm Committee and help with organizing the annual event held in June. Over the past 15 years, the event has grown, attracting on average 1,500-2,000 attendees, many of whom do not have an agriculture background.

What advice would you give another woman in the dairy industry? Don’t be afraid to try something new, whether it’s with the animals or equipment. You won’t know how to do it unless you take the chance.

What is a challenge in the dairy industry you have faced and how did you overcome it? Not feeling respected or valued by salesmen who stop by the farm. It amazes me the number of people who still prefer to deal with my husband and don’t see me as an equal decision maker.

When you get a spare moment, what do you do? I enjoy gardening and canning, traveling and spending time with my family. We especially enjoy taking the girls camping and fishing.