I grew up on our family's dairy farm, the fifth generation to do so. My youngest brother runs it now. His son is the sixth generation getting his little boots muddy around the cows, crops, and equipment.
Our first farm job was holding bottles for the calves. I'm not sure how much help we really were — a wire rack probably would have been more dependable and less distracted. Still, feeding those calves kicked off a lifelong journey in farming for my siblings and me.
Discovering the Ins and Outs of Cattle Farming and Feed
I fed calves reluctantly for years. I learned how to identify scours, dehydration, lethargy, and other common symptoms of disease in these new baby animals. What was almost always a chore for me, became a springboard for my next younger brother. He quickly took over treatment and care of the calves, and now he is a large animal DVM and continues to treat the family farm animals as well as many more in the community.
I learned A.I. in a place and time when the default definition was Artificial Insemination. I learned to navigate cow management software and amidst the turmoil of young adulthood, I decided that dairy farming wasn’t as rough as I had grumbled about during my teenage years and sought a degree in Dairy Science. I secured an internship with our nutritionist and that became the first sprouts for my current career at IFA. I started feeding animals (holding bottles) young and now I like to claim I’ve been feeding cows for 35 years.
Agricultural Job Statistics Reveal Major Workforce Transition
I spent most of my life on the family farm or within the shadow of it. In the past couple of years, I moved to a more urban environment. I still hear the beep of a Cat loader each morning, but rather than mixing feed, they are moving dirt from what were once fields to build homes.
When IFA began in 1923, almost 25% of the U.S. workforce was employed in agricultural labor (Statista United States: farm and nonfarm labor force 1900-1970 | Statista). In 2023 the total employment according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics was about 168 million jobs (Total Employment : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). The USDA reports that of those jobs in 2023, approximately 1.1 million were agricultural jobs (Farm Labor | Economic Research Service). That means that only about 0.7% of the workforce enjoys the connection to agriculture that I do. The number of folks that were raised on the farm, will continue to shrink. Most IFA patrons live in a fairly suburban environment. Now those patrons, and I, are envious of those who are reading this from the back of a horse watching over the herd.
Moving to the city changed the opportunities for my family. We traded exploring the river bottoms unsupervised for walking to school, a flock of chickens in the backyard for a flock of friends on the street, and a quiet gravel driveway for sidewalks better suited for scooters and skateboards.
Dairy Farm Life Leads to Livestock Feed Expertise
IFA gives me the chance to sow my rural oats even on the pavement. Tending to a lawn, caring for flowers, and spraying for spiders, all these things give me the feeling of self-reliance that comes from living rurally. There seems to be a longing that is innate to get our hands dirty and grow things that we love. I am not an expert in agronomy, lawn care, or pest control, but thanks to the experts at IFA, I am confident to be self-reliant in each of these areas. Just a short while ago, with the help of the experts at my local IFA Country Store, I identified aphids on a bush and treated the infestation with an IFA-recommended product.
IFA employs myself and others specifically to provide each of our patrons the ability to feed and grow the animals that they love. Each feeding operation is unique. IFA helps single-cow raw milk operations, robotic milking systems, and 10,000 cow dairies along with everything in between. We provide feeding options for meat rabbits, trophy elk, turkeys, pheasants, horses, sheep, goats, llamas, and yes, even rodents. Our IFA brand feed is milled locally and expertly formulated in-house to fit the needs of the rural herds OR suburban flocks.
Our work is to create feeds that maximize animals’ potential — from Chicken Scratch to Horse Treats and Platinum Show Feed to Custom Dairy Blends. IFA invests in expertise to ensure that our livestock feeds are innovative, effective, and efficient. So whether in a rural agricultural community or in a place that seems to be growing more houses than hay, IFA has experts who have the amazing opportunity to stay connected to agriculture. We are all here together, helping each other grow the things we love.
Written by Robert Bowles, M.S., PAS, & IFA Nutritionist, and originally published in the IFA Cooperator magazine (vol. 91, no. 3) Fall 2025.
Robert Bowles is an IFA nutritionist with a lifetime of experience in the dairy industry. As a fifth-generation dairyman, Robert has been involved with and understands first-hand the needs of his fellow producers. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in dairy science and his Master of Science degree in chemistry from Utah State University before beginning his career with IFA in 2014. When Robert is not spending time with producers and their cows he enjoys going to the lake with his family.