Bernie Faber, Rickreall 

“Along with the journey and the stories, there is a purpose and a reason; building a future in agriculture especially in Oregon because Oregon gave me and others with similar dreams the chance to do what we wanted to do; be a farmer.”

My role in agriculture is to make things better for all of agriculture.  I believe farmers need to be involved and gather others’ opinions and the bottom line is, we need farmers.  In the grand scheme of things, farmers are less than two percent of the population but if we all work together, we will have a voice in important decision making processes and for the future.  But to have a future means that there was a past and I like all others have had my own personal journey into dairy farming.

I was born on a dairy farm in Southern California and lived there till my parents sold out when I was twelve and in 1968 I decided I would like to venture into dairy farming as well.  It was a big decision and change for my wife, Mary Lou, and my two sons, Fred and Rich (daughter Anne was born in January 1969 after we moved) but we decided it would be worth it.  So we sold our house in Southern California and moved to Salem, Oregon with no exact place to go but we got lucky.  We met a man on our way up to Oregon and ten days later, we were in the dairy farming business.  Starting by leasing a place for five years we then purchased the place we now call, Cal-Gon Farms in 1973 and built everything new.  That’s how it all began and since then there has been some big changes, now we have three times more cows than we did then which led to more buildings and many changes dealing with the environments from lagoons to the digester and with all changes brought many challenges.  But some things have stayed the same, the main one being, we are still a family farm working together as a family for the common goal of running a successful dairy farm. 

Of course along the path of starting our own dairy farming business, there were many stories from various people and/or situations among the biggest story tellers were, Larry, Earl, and Marvin.  Unfortunately, I can’t tell all of them (it’d be a book of its own) but there are a few that stick out.  When we came to Salem, we didn’t know anyone and didn’t really know the area so we had many questions and Benny the milk truck driver would always be able to come up with an answer.  We would ask him our question and if he didn’t know, he would ask around and the next time he came to pick up the milk, he’d have our answer.  Another good friend and great help was Larry. He would answer questions and always told great stories.

There are two stories in particular that stick out and I’m compelled to share.  One day I heard Earl yelling, so I went to see what the cause of his frustration was.  He was working on the combine and I said, “Are you having trouble?”  he said, “Yes, ten years ago when I bought this combine, it was wearing out and the damn thing is still wearing out.”  Another one, on a dairy farm there is always salesmen coming around wanting to sell the latest products and/or technology.  One day a man selling towels to wipe cows’ udders came by and the first person he encountered was Mary Lou and he asked her, “Miss, could you tell me what you wipe your teats with?”  And, without missing a beat, she looked up and said, “a bath towel”.  Needless to say we never saw him on the place again.

Along with the journey and the stories, there is a purpose and a reason; building a future in agriculture especially in Oregon because Oregon gave me and others with similar dreams the chance to do what we wanted to do; be a farmer.  Sometimes I wonder if there is a future in agriculture then I look at the successful farms and FFA, 4-H, OSU and other farming related clubs, events and schools and I can really see how optimistic the future of agriculture is.  I feel that the FFA and 4-H clubs teach their members to work with others and compete and set the stage for the future ambassadors for agriculture.  I believe these organizations help other people realize that the rural community is instrumental in getting others to understand how farming works and when we understand each other, we will form a community of all Oregonians working for the betterment of our state. 

In my forty years of being a dairy farmer, I have seen many changes.  The biggest of which is the size of farms. But change is good because if farmers don’t change they hinder their success.  I have tried many different changes that have come along in the dairy business, including but not limited to, soil conservation, innovative irrigation methods, new crops, new pesticides/herbicides and bioengineered seeds.  My motivation is that, I have always wanted to be a farmer and be my own boss and living in Southern California I didn’t see much chance to be able to do that, plus I didn’t think it was the best place for raising my family.  The lesson learned is, that if you have a dream it can come true with hard work, dedication and lots of support.   On our particular farm, we have always had Holstein dairy cows and there have been many changes with the livestock since I began.  For instance, improved genetics, VET and many different nutritional options and I believe we will only see greater advancements and improvements in the future.  There have also been many changes in machinery, which is standard for dairy farms and like all farming is always getting bigger and more improved.  I think that in the future we will need to do different things to save labor, who knows maybe robots will be milking our cows in the foreseeable future.  Forty years ago, I would have never thought we would be where we are today due to the many changes and improvements the farming industry has accomplished.

Along my way of embarking into dairy farming I have been fortunate to be a part of many agricultural groups and attend many meetings and events to benefit and raise awareness of agriculture.  Being an AG Board member allowed me to attend many, conventions and meet with all sorts of people, such as legislators and the governor.  Another group I was involved with was, Oregon Dairy Farmers Association, where I got the opportunity to travel to Washington D.C. and many other states as a member.  I feel that Oregon has always been proactive on environmental issues and many other aspects of agriculture and I can only hope that we will continue to improve and make other people aware of just how important agriculture really is and to see that it is in fact our future.

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These are authentic stories from real farmers.  Any editorial content does not necessarily reflect the beliefs of the Agri-Business Council of Oregon or our members.