Jones Family

The only downside to Susie Jones’ work on the dairy?

“Those boring times I’m stuck in the office instead of out enjoying the farm,” she laughs.

Susie didn’t grow up in a dairy family, but married a third-generation dairyman, her high school sweetheart Dale Jones. The couple has three children, Brandon, Bradley and Brittney.

Susie’s favorite part of dairy life is sharing it with the elementary school kids who visit on field trips. Susie and her mother-in-law, Linda, teach them everything from how the milking machines work to basic animal nutrition.

“Our goal is to show them that this is how we live,” she says. “Their mom and dad might go into town to work in this building or that building,” but, “We do this so you can have your milk and cheese and yogurt when you get to the grocery store.”

Susie also enjoys busting dairy myths for the students’ parents. Like many dairy farmers, the Jones family often hears, “That cow is so skinny!” from visitors accustomed to seeing beef cattle.

“You see their bones because that's how God made them,” she says. “These dairy cows are on an all-you-can-eat diet.”

Fairs and livestock shows are also a great time for the family to show what they do.

“That’s Brittney’s favorite part,” Susie says. “She’ll beg, ‘Let me take the cows! Let me clean up!’”

Clearly, Brittney is not your typical tween. When she was 5, instead of dolls, she asked for a Jersey cow, although the family milks 3,300 Holsteins.

“Well, they’re smaller and so is she,” laughs Susie, adding, “Hey, at least they eat less.”