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Growing up in Connecticut, Isabella Anderson discovered her passion for the dairy industry after participating in 4-H and finding herself spending more and more time on the farm.
“My great uncle had some cows. He lived literally right down the road from us, and I started with 4-H. That’s kind of how I got into the dairy aspect of things, because my main show cow came from a dairy farm. I slowly progressed from just having a few show cows to being [at the farm] all the time,” she shared.
With her interest in animals and agriculture, Izzy decided to attend Delaware Valley University, where she’s beginning her junior year and studying animal science with a minor in dairy science. To continue building her network and explore the dairy industry outside of her home state, Izzy decided to complete an On-Farm Internship this summer. She was paired with Ar-Joy Farms in Cochranville, Pennsylvania – a larger dairy farm that has a methane digester and a new wholesale ice cream business.
“I’m from Connecticut so I don’t know many people from Pennsylvania. Connecticut doesn’t have as vast acreage of farmland as Pennsylvania does. Farms are much smaller than what they are here,” Izzy added. “It took me some time to adjust to working on a larger farm, especially with the amount of calves they have. All the things that need to be done on a greater scale is pretty different.”
When she’s working at the farm level, Izzy spends her days feeding calves, helping the herd manager check cows and treat them, and working to monitor the maternity pen. Part of the internship experience included a research project, and Izzy chose to observe the milking parlor protocols to find areas for improvement. From simple ways to keep teats clean to sending bedding away for pathogen testing, Izzy researched areas the farm could improve to help prevent disease.
The farm was also beginning a new venture at the start of Izzy’s internship experience – a wholesale ice cream business called Our Joy Creamery. Izzy spent a few days a week making and packaging farm-fresh ice cream, giving her an inside look at small business management and value-added opportunities for dairy producers.
“It has been really cool to see the small business side of things. It’s really just Kacie Hershey running it and the business just started, so we definitely had our work cut out for us,” Izzy said. “It was interesting to see how everything is done [from start to finish]. She has blank containers, and then I have to take little stickers with ingredient labels and the names of the ice cream flavors.”
Getting so much hands-on experience has helped Izzy evaluate different career options and narrow down the type of role she sees herself in.
“Since I was a kid, I’ve always wanted to be a vet. Now that I’ve been going to school and getting more experience, I don’t know if vet school is necessarily the right thing for me. I want to find some path in animal science and dairy science,” she shared. “[After this internship], I know I definitely want to stay in agriculture. I like the idea of moving around and not just staying in the office all day.”
Being 200 miles from home not only pushed Izzy out of her comfort zone, but it also helped her find her strengths and areas for growth as she continues her college career.
“You’re going to learn something regardless through this internship experience, whether you like it or not. If you don’t like it, you’re going to learn that about yourself, too. At least for me, because I’m so far [from home], this has helped to push me outside my comfort zone,” she added.
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The Dairy Excellence Foundation, the Professional Dairy Managers of Pennsylvania, and the Pennsylvania Dairymen’s Association provide $3,000 grants to support these on-farm internships each summer.