For Mental Health Awareness Month, this episode of Cow-Side Conversations showcases how a unique friendship started years ago helps a small group of farm women located across the state balance the highs and lows of farming and family life. Katie Sattazahn and her family farm in Womelsdorf, Berks County, while Jessica Slaymaker and her husband farm in Columbia Crossroads, Tioga County. They share their perspective on why making space and grace for your mental wellness matters on the farm.

Duane Stoltzfus of Pennwood Farms LLC in Somerset County, PA shares a glimpse inside their nutrition program, the feeding decisions they make for their 600-cow herd as they crop 2,000 acres, and the return on investment they’ve seen after implementing a feed watch technology system. He also describes the ups and downs of having a digester on their farm and explains the lengthy, but fulfilling, journey their family took to develop a transition plan that provides opportunities for the next generation.

Too often, we hear about dairies that are exiting the industry or those without a next generation. We don’t always hear how dairy farm families are positioning their operations for the future. In this episode of Cow-Side Conversations, Yvette Longenecker of Penn England LLC in Blair County, Pennsylvania shares how they work to find the sweet spot between growth and profitability. With six partners, about 2,100 mature cows, 3,600 acres, 50 employees and three different facilities, patience has been key when evaluating new projects or expansions. She describes their current building project and how they are working to drive efficiency and better manage milk production and quality. Yvette also opens up about how to navigate a family business during periods of growth, when to embrace opportunity versus stay patient, and how they use benchmarking to evaluate the return on possible expansion projects so they don’t over-leverage themselves.