What does the future of the Pennsylvania dairy industry look like? For young professionals like Shara Allman, a full-time herd manager at S&A Kreider and Sons in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, she is living out her dreams at the farm level and working with cows on a daily basis. Many young herd managers like Shara get their start through Dairy Excellence Foundation programs, which was created to expose students to agriculture-related careers and inspire the producers, consumers, and advocates of tomorrow.
Shara graduated in 2021 from The Pennsylvania State University, where she studied animal science and minored in Spanish. Growing up, her dad was a herdsman on a dairy farm and Shara has memories of going along to the farm with him. This sparked her interest in dairy, and she began working on different dairy farms throughout high school and college. In 2019, during her college career, Shara decided to complete an On-Farm Internship through the Dairy Excellence Foundation where she gained in-depth skills that she continues to utilize to this day.
“I wanted to do something different and meet new people. I already knew a lot of the farmers in our area. I actually worked on two different dairies up in New York through the On-Farm Internship Program that were bigger, really progressive, and technologically advanced and efficient,” Shara said. “I learned a lot of hands-on skills through the internship as far as IV-ing cows and breeding cows.”
She also took her dairy experience to the next level during college by completing a Calving Corner internship, where she worked at the live dairy cow birthing exhibit at the PA Farm Show. Shara learned invaluable skills for communicating with consumers and viewing her role in the dairy industry from a different perspective.
“I did the Calving Corner internship, and it was one of my favorite experiences from college. It helped me learn how to talk to people and think about my job in a way that other people would. When it comes to seeing how people feel and learning how to answer tough questions, I never had experienced that before,” she said. “Now, when people who aren’t in agriculture find out what I do, they’ll ask me the hard questions and now I know how to answer them because I’ve answered them hundreds of times at the Calving Corner.”
Shara enjoys tackling new experiences that are outside her comfort zone, so she traveled to Nebraska to complete another internship during her college career. All of these experiences in agriculture ultimately led her back to Lancaster County when a herd manager position opened up on a family dairy farm.
“The summer after I did the internship through the Dairy Excellence Foundation, I did an internship on a beef ranch out in Nebraska and I really loved that. I was going back and forth my senior year whether I wanted to go back out West or look for a dairy on the East Coast,” Shara explained. “The job that I’m at now [at S&A Kreider and Sons in Lancaster County] popped up and it was just a really good opportunity that I couldn’t pass up. So, that’s what I ended up choosing and I’m glad I did.”
Shara has been in the herd manager role for almost three years at S&A Kreider and Sons. She has expanded on the herd management skills she learned through her On-Farm Internship.
“My role is everything related to health and reproduction of the cows. I treat sick cows, watch transition cows, assist in calvings and breed. You don’t really don’t get good at the hands-on skills until you’re doing it every single day. We’re big enough that I have the opportunity to do these things every day,” she added.
Right now, Shara manages the farm’s second operation and herd located in Maryland. Her favorite part of her management responsibilities include caring for fresh cows and getting to know each cow’s life story.
“I really like diagnosing sick cows, coming up with a treatment plan, discussing with the vet each week to tweak the plan, and see cows progress and get better. Seeing a cow and knowing her life story, or where she’s at in her lactation, is pretty rewarding,” Shara said.
Where does Shara see herself in 10 years? If she continues to grow in her position, she says she very well may still be in Pennsylvania.
“I definitely feel like we’re progressive enough as a farm to feel like I’m continuing to grow even though I’m staying in the same position. So I definitely could see myself still being there,” she added.
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The Center for Dairy Excellence Foundation, the Professional Dairy Managers of Pennsylvania, and the Pennsylvania Dairymen’s Association provide $3,000 grants to support the on-farm internship program each summer. Learn more