City girl gone country

HEBRON, Ill. — When Ella Logue was growing up, she questioned why there were hardly any dairy products in her home. The little bit of dairy her family did have was organic.

When she learned the lack of dairy was because her parents had doubts about the industry, the young Logue took it upon herself to find out the truth.

“My parents were skeptical of how farmers treat their animals,” Logue said. “I was open-minded and told my mom, ‘I want to go find out for myself.’ Since then, I’ve given my parents a lot of proof of how milk is safe, and they’ve completely changed their minds. Now, my dad works at a farm on the weekends. He loves it.”

Before Logue started working on a farm herself, she toured one and said she was amazed at what she saw.

“You have to be so detailed with it all day, every day,” Logue said. “Farmers are doing this 365 days a year to feed the world. They’re never stopping. From that point on, I thought, ‘I want to work there. This is what I want to do.’”

Living in town, Logue had no prior farm experience.

“My grandma had a great-uncle who had a dairy farm, so technically there is dairy in my family, but it’s super far back,” she said. “My grandma always talked about how fun it was and how she drank milk from the bulk tank.”

Logue got her first job on a dairy farm near Harvard when she was 16.

“I always liked cows and thought they were so cute,” Logue said. “When I decided it was time for me to get a job, I thought, ‘I’m going to see if any farms need me.’ Actually, a lot of farms did not need me. I had no experience. But I eventually found a farm that did.”

The farm near Harvard milked 90 cows in a stanchion barn, and Logue said it was the place to start as a young girl.

“When I got there on my first day, they told me to go out in the pasture and fetch the cows,” Logue said. “I had never been around a cow in my life, and these were Holsteins, not little Jerseys. I went out there having no idea how to get cows in, but I figured it out. Since that day, I thought maybe this is what I’m meant to do.”

Logue worked there for 1.5 years before moving on to a robotic dairy.

“I learned a lot and got experience with both Lely and DeLaval robots,” she said.

Next, Logue worked as a herdsman at a historically famous farm in Wisconsin. However, after a short stint of living on her own, Logue decided to return home. Logue is an only child and lives in Marengo with her parents. Her dad works in construction in Chicago. Her mom previously worked at a wellness office specializing in nutrition.

Logue now works at Dream Chaser Genetics near Hebron, which is owned by Michelle Upchurch and Michael Gregory. The farm is home to about 20 cows and 10 goats. Logue’s main responsibilities include calf chores and milking.

“Ella will do anything you ask, and she’s willing to learn anything,” Upchurch said. “She won’t hesitate. It’s few and far between that you get somebody who shows up, gives it their all, and wants to work hard. It’s nice to have somebody that you can rely on if you’re not here. It’s a rarity.”

Showing is the farm’s primary focus. Upchurch and Gregory also do a lot of embryo work and market their offspring. Upchurch judges dairy cattle shows and was an associate judge for the Ayrshire show at World Dairy Expo in 2024.

In addition to helping Upchurch three days a week, Logue also takes care of the farm when Upchurch and Gregory attend shows and works at several other farms as well.

“She’s overambitious, but she’s gotten a little bit better about saying no,” Upchurch said. “That’s good for her because I didn’t want her to feel burnt out.”

Logue has worked for four dairy farms over the past three years.

“I have little side jobs everywhere,” she said. “I’ll help anyone if they need it. It’s my purpose.”

In several years, Logue has gained knowledge about the industry and has experience with various milking setups, including a pipeline, a parlor and robots.

“Ella is a city girl gone country,” Upchurch said. “It’s absolutely amazing. She was smart enough and curious enough to see if what her mom said was true.”

Today, milk, cheese and other dairy products are a staple in her family’s refrigerator.

“My mom and dad are very supportive (of dairy) now,” Logue said.

Logue enjoys showing cattle and said showing helped her parents gain trust in the industry. Her mom helped feed Logue’s show heifers and made sure her daughter walked them every day.

“If I could ever find anyone as good as Ella to watch the farm, she could come to the shows with us,” Upchurch said. “I think she could be a great asset at shows.”

Through her experiences, Logue has decided she wants her involvement in the dairy industry to be lifelong. The 19-year-old is taking college classes online through Arkansas State University, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in agriculture science and a minor in animal science.

“I would love to be a classifier,” Logue said. “I judged throughout high school, and I was pretty good at it. I placed sixth out of 400 at Expo. I would love to have show cattle someday, too. I have a lot of ideas.”

Logue’s curiosity has ultimately guided her to a career in dairy as she has immersed herself in the industry and embraced every learning opportunity.

“When I look back at how I started, I see that you can start from nothing and work your way up, even in a short amount of time,” Logue said. “It doesn’t matter what age you are. Agriculture can be for anyone if you’re willing to put the work in.”