To most people in the world names are important. They are used to identify objects, places and people. Names can be a good thing or a bad thing. They can be a nickname or something that has been passed down for generations.
My family's farm sign that is displayed at the end of our driveway. Photo Courtesy of Lauren Messing
On farms names are important too. Whether it’s a name of a cow, a job or the name of a farm. One of the funnest jobs on a farm is naming it. I have been on hundreds of farms and have seen some creative and eye catching names. Some of my favorites have been Quiet Cove Holsteins, Lemarju Registered Holsteins and Arethusa Farms.
The name of a farm can reflect back on the generations past and the ones to come. It can portray the care and hard work that is put into their animals and the honor they have to be working in this industry.
My family’s farm is Messing Dairy, if you know my family’s name you’ll see this isn’t exactly unique. But it shows the pride my family takes in their work because we’ve put our name right on it. When it came to our cows we are little more creative.
Each farmer that breeds and registers purebred dairy cattle has something called a prefix. This prefix goes in the beginning of every animals name they breed. This way, her origin can easily be identified where ever she is.
For our Holstein cattle my family chose “Huron Lane” because of our close proximity to Lake Huron (we’re about 30 minutes away in three directions). We thought it was unique to our area and the name would carry through for generations.
For our Jerseys we chose the prefix “Ashland”. Actually, I chose the prefix because the rest of my family didn’t care what it was. Although it has no tie to our area it was a unique name that still identifies us.
Even in agriculture, having a name is important.
