Humans of USU: For the love of cows
Four-foot-three wasn’t quite tall enough for 12-year-old Austin Demler to reach the cows in the milking parlor. But he didn’t let that stop him.
This summer marks 11 years since he began his first job as a milker at his neighbor’s dairy. He is rather proud that he figured out how get the job done despite his lack of height.
“I was so short I had to milk on a crate. I dragged it around so I could reach the cows,” Demler said. “I was like four foot three, so it was a little hard, but I had fun.”
Fast forward 11 years and the setting is much the same, minus the milk crate. Demler has grown a foot or two, but upholds his strong love for milk cows and dairies.
Demler has spent the last five years working as a milker, herder and feeder for the 150-cow Utah State University Caine Dairy.
His day starts as early as 2:30 a.m. so he can be at the dairy by 3 a.m. Demler admits the long hours and lack of sleep can be draining, but he enjoys the lifestyle.
“I like being outside, driving tractors and taking care of the animals,” Demler said. “It’s neat to raise them from newborn calves all the way to a cow.”
He knows all the cows in the herd and keeps track of their newborn calves. His favorite cow, named Excel, just calved, so Demler tied a string on the pen to keep track of the newborn he named Slash.
“I like it when cows are really friendly. They make best friends and a lot of time they will pick you,” Demler said. “A lot of them will act like dogs and follow you around and come when you call them.”
His knowledge of cows and years of experience have earned him the respect and trust of the co-workers and managers. They know Demler savvies the operation and trust him to do a good job. They acknowledge if there is anything to be known about the dairy, Austin knows it.
Karli Moulton, a sophomore majoring in elementary education, has worked with Austin at the dairy for about one year and has noticed Demler’s abilities.
“He knows cows and they know him. He is their friend,” Moulton said. “He is able to work with them really well. He knows how to make them do what he wants because they know him and they trust him.”
Demler planned to work at a large dairy after he completed USU’s nine-month Dairy Herdsman program. He was caught completely unaware when USU discontinued the program a year before he was eligible to enroll. Demler was upset when the program was canceled, but tried to take classes under the Animal and Dairy Science major. The classes are designed for pre-vet students, so Demler found the material irrelevant to his goals.
Rebekah Pratt, assistant herdsman at Caine Dairy, says the program was a perfect fit for Austin because he would have graduated with a bachelor’s certificate that would have allowed him to be a herdsman at a dairy.
“There’s a lot of different ways that people learn and not all of them are through academia,” Pratt said. “Discontinuing that program left him without an opportunity to fulfill his dream.”
Pratt believes there are other ways for Demler to accomplish his dreams, but Demler fears his chances of owning his own dairy are quite slim.
“It’s just too hard to find land,” Demler said. “Everything is too expensive now to start your own. So, if you don’t inherit one or win the lottery, it’s pretty much impossible to start your own.”
Luckily, cows aren’t the only thing Demler has a passion for. He is an avid fan of rock-and-roll music and has managed to get enough time off from the dairy to attend over 200 concerts.
“I like being front row, feeling the fire and crowd surfing,” Demler said.
He believes ACDC is the best rock-and-roll band and most days he can be found wearing one of the band’s T-shirts and listening to the rock station on the radio while he milks.
But Demler doesn’t just listen to rock-and-roll: he makes a little of his own. He’s been playing guitar for 10 years and was lead guitarist in a Salt Lake City band called Perfect Disorder for one year.
“The first time I played was for a couple thousand people and I was nervous. Really nervous, actually,” Demler said.
He isn’t sure what his next step in life is, but he hasn’t given up on his dream of running his own dairy just yet. For now, he is content to take care of the cows at Caine Dairy, save up for a Harley and go to as many ACDC concerts as he can.
“I have to give up the dairy eventually,” he said, “but I plan on milking it out until then.”