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Jacob VanDoren is a junior at Delaware Valley University with a major in dairy science. What made him decide to pursue a degree in agriculture? Thanks to his grandparents and his active involvement in 4-H, Jacob found his love for cows.
“My great grandfather had a dairy farm where he milked Guernseys. I grew up listening to stories from my great grandfather about the tractors and stories from my grandmother about the cows. That kind of made me want to become a dairy farmer,” Jacob shared. “I found my passion through them. Then, they put me in a farm camp with one of the local dairy farms that was kind of a feeder program into the 4-H Dairy Club. I got really into showing dairy cows and stuff through that farm.”
With the goal of getting experience on a commercial dairy farm, Jacob left home in New Jersey this summer and traveled to Pennsylvania to complete an on-farm internship at Zugstead Farms. Animal care and herd management have been key areas of responsibility for Jacob throughout the summer.
“Most days when I come in, I’ll walk the dry cow barn and make sure all the cows are okay. If any are calving, I’ll walk them up into the calving pen. Then I’ll check the heifers, [work with the herd manager] to treat any cows that are sick, and make sure all the calves that we weaned are eating and looking healthy,” he shared. “I’ve gotten a good deal of experience working with the herd manager to treat cows and know what to look for and what to treat with. I’ve learned a lot about calving signs, and I’ve gotten better at breeding as well.”
Working with a larger herd has helped Jacob learn valuable lessons about the business side of a dairy operation and what types of daily management decisions can impact the bottom line.
“I had to adjust and learn a different mindset. They’re not afraid to cull a cow because they have so many heifers coming in to replace it,” he added.
Jacob hopes to take some of these business management and herd-level skills back home with him. His dream is to open a micro-dairy in the future and sell products directly to his community.
“I hope to one day have my own micro-dairy farm back home with on-farm processing, making yogurt and ice cream and selling that at farmer’s markets. I want to take the mindset I’ve adopted with me and put some of the ideas behind commercial dairy to work on the farm at home.”
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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.