As farmers and ranchers, we spend a lot of time looking after the health and well being of our animals. In my case, it is dairy cattle, where we regularly have herd health evaluations. This allows us to evaluate several different indicators such as days open,  pounds of milk produced, cull rate and many other factors that make up total herd health. All of that is very interesting and if used properly, very valuable to animal care and our business. It makes me wonder if we do the same for ourselves.

Jody is a triathlete, duathlete and dairy farmer! He's concerned about the health of farmers.

I’d like to ask you to take a minute to think about your own “herd” today. If you were to do a herd health evaluation on yourself and your family, what would be the score? How would you rate, where would you like to improve, do you have any goals?  Maybe our health and wellness drops pretty quickly to the bottom of the list of things to do after all that we do with our farm and family.

A farms grow larger and responsibilities increase, gone are the days when the picture of a farmer was lean and strong from twelve hours of manual labor. Most farmers today spend time in the cab of a tractor or seat of a pick-up. Combine that with more and more time in front of  a computer screen, doing the things it takes to run a modern day agricultural business. While those things are what we have to do, it really scares me when I attend dairy meetings or county shows and look at the “herd health”  of our farmers and ranchers.

As food and fiber producing  farmers, we take lots of pride in our farms. We produce a healthy, safe  and relatively cheap product. We also  take pride in the heritage of our farms and farm families. I think our health should reflect that fact – we should be shining  examples of what consuming fresh wholesome and safe food looks like. However most farmers, myself included, are guilty of  the same excuses everyone else has: no time , no energy, or that’s the way  “momma” cooked it.

As we continue through this holiday season and take time to thank God for all the blessings He has given us over the past year, take a minute to have an honest look in the mirror at the health of the most important animal on your farm. Next look around the table and evaluate your family’s “herd health.”  Maybe the new year is the time to consider a change in your “ration” or to get out and become more active. As a dairyman, I understand the love of farm and family. Adding healthy, productive years to your life through simple nutrition and exercise will allow you to make the most of both of those very important parts of our lives.

Jody Dyess is a 5th generation east Texas dairy farmer who participated in four triathlons and one duathlon in 2010. He milks four hundred head of Holsteins and crossbreeds on a pasture-based farm  for seven years.  Jody has been married for nine years to Bonnie Dyess and they have with three children- Anna 7, Hayden 5, Karen 2. This is his first guest blog post, which he volunteered to do because of his interest in both farming and physical fitness.

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