By Kristine Thomas[singlepic=310,320,240,,right]
Barbara Mann can name the parents of each of her 180 “girls.” She also knows the parents’ names of the parents of her 180 girls and so on for at least seven generations.
Ask her to outline her own family history and, well, that’s a project for another day.
“I haven’t worked on my own family’s genealogy very well but I have on the cows,” Barbara said.
Barbara and Alan Mann, along with their daughter and son-in-law Darleen and Ben Sichley are the owners of Abiqua Acres, home to 180 registered Guernseys.
Darleen is the third generation farmer on the Grade A dairy farm, started 60 years ago by her grandparents Paul and Delores Mann. The family takes pride in having the only 100 percent Guernsey herd in Oregon.
This summer, the Manns and the Sichleys hosted more than 200 people who toured the dairy as part of the 2012 American Guernsey Association Convention. At a convention dinner, Barbara and Alan Mann received the Master Breeder Award.
For Darleen, who confessed she once never wanted to be a dairy farmer, the award recognizes her parents for performing at a national level. “The award shows their lifetime commitment to the Guernsey breed,” Darleen said.
Like his mother-in-law, Ben didn’t grow up on a farm but knew working on one was something he wanted to do. He takes pride that Abiqua Acres is nationally recognized for its dedication to the Guernsey breed.
He also understands the farm has a tradition of being committed to the importance of family. Just as his in-laws raised his wife and her brother on the farm, Ben likes the fact he can be with his 1-year-old son, Mason, every day and see him grow up.
[singlepic=311,320,240,,right]The Manns and the Sichleys define their work as a commitment – one that is made and followed through with day after day.
They are dedicated to raising Guernsey cows that are “commercially competitive,” and are proud of the quality and volume of milk the cows produce. The recognition their cows received at the Oregon State Fair confirms their belief that hard work pays off. At the fair, they received more than a dozen individual awards for their cows along with a first place award for Oregon Bred and Owned Animals and second place for both Exhibitor Herd of Five and Produce of Dam. Abiqua Acres was awarded Premier Breeder and Premier Exhibitor.
Twice a day, every day, 90 cows are milked, producing an average of 50 pounds a milk. Each milking takes about three hours. Velma, the oldest cow, has produced more than 200,000 pounds of milk in 14 years.
Alan, 57, said he knew when he was “8 or 10 years old” that he wanted to be a dairy farmer. “We are the boss, except the cows are the boss.”
While he can’t control the price of hay or grain, or how much his milk will sell for, he can control is his time and how he manages the farm, he said.
When his son and daughter were growing up, he and his wife never missed a school event. He now can have lunch with his grandson or visit his new granddaughter.
He chose to be a farmer because he loves the work and he’s proud of the values working on a farm teaches. He’s equally proud of the herd he has developed through careful research and work.
In 1967, he bought his first Guernsey, Van Banker Snooks. “Today, the 13th descendent of her is on the farm,” he said.
Keeping in mind his goal to have a “commercially competitive herd,” Alan said he breeds his cows by artificial insemination. He sells the bulls born on the farm.
“Boys are highly discriminated against at our farm,” Barbara said, laughing.
With the exception of one – grandson Mason.
His parents and grandparents watched in delight as he toddled here and there, discovering apples and blackberries.
For Alan, a quality herd amounts to the same thing as family. He knows both take careful tending to. It’s a commitment day in and day out – 365 days a year.
