Filling fulfillment buckets

HUTCHINSON, Minn. — Empowering women in the dairy industry one speech at a time is a focus for dairy farmer Katy Schultz.

Schultz was the keynote at the Women in Dairy: Farming with Family event hosted by the University of Minnesota Extension and Minnesota Dairy Initiative Feb. 13 near Hutchinson at Crow River Winery.

Schultz is part owner and herd manager at Tri-Fecta Farms near Fox Lake, Wisconsin, where they milk 400 cows and farm around 2,000 acres. Along with keeping track of herd numbers, Schultz also manages the hired employees, whom she calls her farm family.

“My favorite part of being the herd manager is working with the people,” Schultz said. “I love being able to help empower people.”

During her presentation, Schultz talked with attendees about core values and what is going to add fulfillment to the “bucket” of their lives.

“You’re not going to fill all of that bucket at the farm,” Schultz said. “You’re not going to fill all of that bucket in your marriage. You’re not going to fill all of that bucket from your kids. When your buckets aren’t filled, you try and fill it with other things that maybe aren’t as healthy.”

Schultz said being able to do things outside of the farm to fill her bucket is important. For Schultz, public speaking, such as the Women in Dairy event, helps fill her bucket.

Understanding the core values of those on the farm Schulz said can help each team member have a better mindset. She said when her family and employees see they are being valued, everything goes up — production, animal health and quality of life.

“When I invested more in everyone else, I was fulfilled,” Schultz said.

When someone is getting frustrated, Schultz said it is important to think about three questions to help the situation: do they need to be heard, do they need a hug, and do they want help?

“Being able to have grace and respect has gone a really long way for us,” Schultz said.

Schultz also talked about the communication on the farm. She said everybody in the day-to-day operation should get a voice.

“Our farm ... looks like it did when I grew up, but it doesn’t feel like it anymore,” Schultz said.

Every day they have a meeting at 9 a.m. that lasts nine minutes. This allows everybody to talk about what they need help with for the day. Asking questions beyond the farm can go a long way as well, Schultz said.

“People are my passion,” Schultz said. “I will do whatever it takes to see them succeed.”

At Tri-Fecta Farms, they also have biannual business meetings. During these meetings, both owners and their spouses have a voice in the business. It is each owner’s responsibility to bring concerns from their spouse.

“We had to figure out a way to strengthen the marriages at the same time to make sure their voices were heard,” Schultz said.

When the agenda is sent out, there is a spot specified for each in-law. Schultz said she wants to know the in-laws’ thoughts and concerns.

Schultz’ dairy farming story goes back to 1989, when a neighboring farm came up for sale. Her parents decided to buy it and start dairy farming. Before this purchase, they were raising steers and crop farming.

When her parents were building the dairy farm, they contemplated its design not knowing if any of their kids would come back to the farm, Schultz said.

“I am unbelievably grateful to my parents for making sure that we had a successful and viable business,” Schultz said. “Our parents gave us an opportunity to buy a successful business. We didn’t want to be given anything else. They gave us an opportunity of a lifetime.”

Schultz’s parents had requirements for those that wanted to come back to the farm. These included having an education beyond high school, working for someone else for a time and obtaining a skill nobody else had.

Schultz said her parents wanted to make sure that if something happened and the business did not make it, they had something else to do.

“When you have a skill set that no one else has, you add value to the farm and you feel valued (in return),” she said.

Schultz’s skillset is working with people and making sure they are empowered and feel valued.

Being able to empower those around her is important Schultz said, and has made an impact on her family business.

“When you are improving small little things … it gives you an opportunity to be able to look at your business a little differently,” Schultz said.