SLINGER, Wis. — The first of June marked the start of Mariah Estrada’s three-month internship at Mayer Farms. The Mayer’s dedication to the education and wellbeing of their interns and animals made it an easy decision for Mariah to leave her hometown in Colorado for the summer. Since joining the family team at Mayer Farm, she has been presented many more opportunities to learn about the world of agriculture and is learning something new every day that she will carry with her into her future career in agriculture.
Mayer Farm’s internship opportunity offers hands-on learning that promotes curiosity and a deeper understanding of farming, animal husbandry, and agri-tourism that can only be truly learned in practice. By allowing college-age, student interns to become invested in their different businesses, such as Folk Song Farm Events, LLC, Mayer Farms Beef, LLC, and the dairy farm, Mayer Farms, LLC, the Mayers are able to encourage young professionals like Mariah, to discover different horizons and develop a variety of skills.
Mariah Estrada grew up in the Denver metro area of central Colorado and is currently a junior at Colorado State University working toward a degree in Animal Science.
Having grown up in the suburbs, she was not introduced into agriculture until college and has been pursuing a career working with livestock since. Her ambition to learn and understand agriculture’s critical role in our society led her to apply for an internship through the Professional Dairy Producers where she met Shelly Mayer.
A plane trip later and now Mariah is living on the property and taking on independent roles on the farm such as calf care, assisting with milking the herd, and numerous other herd management experiences like working with the herd’s veterinarian.
“During our lives both as youth growing up and when we were young as college graduates, we were fortunate to have numerous mentors who invested in both Shelly and myself. Neighbors, fellow farmers, 4-H leaders and countless industry professionals have helped us learn and grow throughout careers. We believe it is our duty to help others as we have been tutored and encouraged throughout our careers,” says Dwight Mayer, a sixth-generation dairy farmer.
“With every young person we can encourage, we are giving back a small part of what we have reaped throughout of lives. Dairying has been good to our family. We have all that we could ever want and need. Now it is time we help others,” he adds.
The Mayer dedication to furthering her experiences and enabling her curiosity, they have also opened many doors by introducing Mariah to fellow dairy producers and prominent figures such as their nutritionist and veterinarian.
Mayer Farm is owned by Dwight and Shelly Mayer of Slinger. They are the sixth generation to dairy on the land that was farmed by Dwight’s father, uncles, and grandfathers. Together with their three-grown children Devin, Cassandra and Dylan, Dwight and Shelly milked 60 registered Holstein and Brown Swiss cows. The Mayer family takes great pride in producing high quality milk and meat for families. They believe that encouraging others to pursue their dreams is part of what they were called to do on their 250-acre farm two miles south of Slinger, Wisconsin.
About Mayer Farms Beef, LLC: Mayer Farms Beef, LLC is a seven-generation farm. We are licensed by the state of Wisconsin to sell meat directly from our farm. Our store, located on our farm at 4965 County Road E, Slinger, WI 53086 is open Wednesday-Friday, 1 pm to 5 pm and Saturday-Sunday, 12 pm to 5 pm. For more information about Mayer Farms Beef and to learn about the family, go to www.mayerfarmsbeef.com.
About Folk Song Farm Events, LLC: Folk Song Farm Events, LLC is a family-owned and operated historical site dating to the 1850s and event facility located at 4811 Pioneer Road, Richfield. Folk Song Farm is embraced by 48 acres of rural Wisconsin farmland. The restored Barn is the perfect setting to celebrate all of life’s greatest moments, as well as offers an opportunity to learn about agriculture and where your food comes from, through our Farm-to-Table events. For more information about Folk Song Farm and to learn about the historical site, go to www.folksongfarm.com.
— Mayer Farms
For more news from Wisconsin, click here.