81 years of dairy farming is no easy feat, but for Merle Pearson it is all he has known. Merle’s passion for cows was sparked at a young age where he began milking cows by hand with his mom when he was only five years old.  

“A lot has changed since then,” Merle said reminiscing on the old ways. “Back in the day just about all my neighbors were dairy farmers.”  

The 86-year-old has seen various shifts in the industry from technology to economics. When Merle moved to his own farm he raised 40 cows, 20 sows and 300 laying hens. At the time he sold eggs for 13 cents a dozen and milk was going $2.75 per hundred weight. As technology advanced, Merle switched from the separator straight to using a bulk tank, skipping the milk can phase altogether. His farm implemented his pipeline in the early 70s. 

Looking back on all his years of dairy farming, Merle’s favorite animal was his Holstein cow Grandma. Merle had Grandma on his farm for at least 20 years before she passed away. Grandma was one of the nicest cows he ever had on his farm.

Aside from caring for his animals and land, Merle is also a welcoming host and good friend to many. His sincere hospitality results in an open door, plenty of chocolate cake and soda to share, and a cassette player spinning polka and waltz for his guests. While sitting down at the kitchen table at a visit, Merle pointed out the window and said, “There’s my good neighbor Andy, when I’m gone, he’s gonna have to take care of the ranch.”  

While he has seen many friends come and go, Merle has a great support system through his neighbors who are basically his adopted family. The neighbors check in on Merle every day and support him through his successes. They hosted an 80th birthday party for Merle and made him picture books so he can look back on their memories together.

A lot has changed since the 1940s, but Merle has plenty of wisdom regarding taking care of his animals. 

“I just enjoy the cows,” said Merle, “I hope I can keep going.”  

Merle plans to milk his cows every day for the rest of his life. Looking back on his time with First District Association, Merle said, “I’d say the highlight of dairy farming with First District would be the field managers and good milk haulers. If I ever had one little problem they were right there to help.”  

Merle’s hope for First District Association’s future is the same as his hope for his farm, “To keep it going.”