Women in Dairy

Emily Fincher
Marshfield, Wisconsin
Wood County

Tell us about your family and farm. With my fiancé, Dan Quinn, and two children, Jeffery and Dylan, we operate a 130-acre crop farm where we grow corn, soybeans, wheat and hay. We custom combine another 500 acres. I work on a 400-cow dairy where I work with fresh cows in the maternity area and feed calves.

What is a typical day like for you on the dairy? On a typical day, I start out by doing the laundry and prepare for the day. I get the milkers ready. I check for calves and check everything out. Then, I take care of milking and feeding calves.

What decision have you made in the last year that has benefited your farm? The best decision I have made is to invest in my education to continue improving my skills and what I can offer employers. I’m currently taking a calving management class at Mid-State Technical College, and I attend workshops in the area as frequently as I can.

Tell us about your most memorable experience working on the farm. I have enjoyed learning about caring for dairy cattle and also watching my kids have the opportunity to grow up exposed to the industry and farm life.

What have you enjoyed most about dairy farming or your tie to the dairy industry? Dairy farming is an active occupation, and I am an active person. I enjoy that every day brings something new. There is a special feeling of accomplishment when you complete a job well.

What is your biggest accomplishment in your dairy career? I didn’t grow up on a dairy farm. I have family involved in farming, but I grew up three hours away from their farm. I first started working on a dairy farm because, as a single mother, I needed employment. I knew only the very basics. I have learned nearly everything on the job, and I have learned a lot and become very proficient at caring for animals.

What are things you do to promote your farm or the dairy industry? I am active on social media, writing posts about how and why we do things on the farm. I use my non-farm background to look at things from that point of view in addition to the dairy farm point of view. I have had conversations with people who have told me I have impacted the way they view the dairy industry. That is an amazing feeling.

What advice would you give another woman in the dairy industry? As someone who entered the industry from the outside, my advice would be to just walk into it, get there, ask questions and be ready to learn. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Just make sure you learn from those mistakes.

What is a challenge in the dairy industry you have faced, and how did you overcome it? The biggest challenge I have faced in the dairy industry is my non-farm background. I was willing to take the challenge and accept a job where I knew the bare basics, but I openly and actively sought to learn new skills. When I started working on a dairy farm, I had never even seen a calf being born. Now, I can look at a cow or calf and know if something is wrong with her and follow the steps to determine what the problem might be.

When you get a spare moment, what do you do? I enjoy spending time with my kids and playing games with them. We enjoy playing catch or Frisbee and visiting different places like county parks and museums.