Women in dairy: Josie Sauder

Tell us about your family and farm. I’m part of the sixth generation on the farm. My great-grandfather, Lloyd Alberts, started the herd when he bought four registered Holsteins from the University of Minnesota in 1919. He had two sons, Kenneth and Myron, who grew the herd over the years. The expansion in 1980 grew the herd to 300 cows. Since then, my three uncles — Dave, Duane and Rick — have continued growing the herd to 600 milking cows. At age 12, I started helping my mom in the milking parlor and feeding calves. Over the past few years, my sisters, cousins and I have started taking on more of the day-to-day jobs, like milking, herd health, cleaning barns and calf care.

What is a typical day like for you on the dairy? Since I’ve started working full time on the farm, every day is a little bit different. My role includes anything from assisting the vet and breeder each week to breeding heifers, sorting cows, milking, bedding calves and cows, feeding calves, helping with harvest and many other day-to-day tasks. I help to make sure the animals are doing well and getting the care they need.

Tell us about your most memorable experience working on the farm. My most memorable experience on the farm is when my sisters, cousins and I come together to help pick rock or cover our silage bunkers. Rain or shine, covering the bunker after a successful crop is always memorable.

What have you enjoyed most about dairy farming or your tie to the dairy industry? I love getting to share knowledge about dairy farming with people who might not know much about what goes into farming. As a dairy princess, I’m able to attend community events and help people gain more of an understanding of agriculture. Some of my favorite events are classroom visits at elementary schools and serving ice cream at the local grain elevator.

What is your biggest accomplishment in your dairy career? In FFA, my Supervised Agricultural Experience project was working on the farm. With this project, being a chapter officer and other FFA activities, I have earned my American FFA Degree and am excited to receive it this fall.

What are things you do to promote your farm or the dairy industry? Each year, our farm hosts all the second graders from Pine Island schools. It’s always a ton of fun getting to lead the tour groups and share with them what we do as farmers to take care of our cows. I’ve also been a Dodge County dairy princess for two years; that has been a great experience. I’ve loved sharing my passion for the dairy industry with consumers.

What advice would you give another woman in the dairy industry? I would say it’s important to get out of your comfort zone and meet people in the industry who can support and advise you.

What is a challenge in the dairy industry you have faced, and how did you overcome it? Two years ago, I fractured four vertebrae in a car accident. Due to that, I was not able to work on the farm for several months. Coming back to regular farm work was challenging, as I was not physically able to do many of the things I could before. After months of physical therapy, I am finally back to working at full strength again.

When you get a spare moment, what do you do? In my spare time, I enjoy showing cattle at the county and state fairs, going line dancing, attending rodeos and spending time with family and friends.