A Little Bit Country and a Little Bit Rock ‘N Roll

Farm Name: Stoney Point Farm

Family: John and Julie Mayer; daughter Ashley; son Sean

Location: Taneytown, Md.

Oldie rock music blares through the windows of a tractor as Julie Mayer sings along and dances in the seat. Behind her, green, fresh-cut hay is forming neat rows that will soon be baled and stored as food for her herd of 60 Jersey cows. Once a self-proclaimed “city girl,” Julie is now a farmer through and through. So, how did she make the switch from high heels to barn boots? It all began with a boy.

Thank God He’s a Country Boy

Julie met her husband, John, in the mid 1980s when he was working on a crop farm. Their romance was quick, and soon they found themselves married with a young daughter and an empty farm that held possibilities. Neither John nor Julie grew up on a dairy farm. In fact, Julie was raised in the suburbs and spent time living in Pittsburgh, Pa. But the young couple decided to take a gamble and purchased a few young cows to raise and then sell to local dairy farms.

By 1988, a few years after they purchased their Taneytown, Md., farm, the Mayers were building a new milking parlor to try their hands at being full-fledged dairy farmers. They started with just 25 Holstein dairy cows, but soon Julie’s fancy would turn to something a little browner.

All You Need is Love

As the Mayers’ children grew, John and Julie decided to purchase a few Jersey dairy cows for Ashley and Sean, now 24 and 20, to exhibit at dairy shows. Jersey cows are characterized by their small stature, brown hair and big brown eyes, which endear them to many people, Julie included.

“I just love my cows,” Julie said. “They are what make all the work and sacrifices on the farm worthwhile.”

Julie ensures that the cows are well-taken care of by providing preventive health care, such as regular vaccinations, high quality feed and comfortable, clean housing.

“I always refer to that old saying: ‘An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure,’” Julie said. “I use that as my guiding principal in caring for the cows and our land.”

And even though Julie didn’t milk her first cow until she was 30, her outstanding cow care shows each day in the high standards she sets for the farm’s milking routine. As each cow enters the milking area, Julie, or her trained assistant, carefully and conscientiously wash the cows’ teats to ensure they are clean before attaching the milking machine. This strict procedure helps to keep the cows healthy and leads to high-quality milk.

Take Me Home Country Roads

The Mayer’s homestead, which was previously owned by another family, has been in agriculture production since 1901. To preserve that heritage, most of the 147 acres on Stoney Point Farm are enrolled in the local Farmland Preservation program. John and Julie continue to make improvements to the land, mostly to increase the comfort of their cows.

The farm’s cows have access to a “free stall” barn, in which they can roam freely, and to an outdoor pasture. Julie and John are in the process of upgrading their grazing pastures, including adding more areas for the cows to graze and new walkways for the cows to access the pastures.

“With my girls, I try to keep them as comfortable and content as possible,” Julie said of the cows. “This means providing them with a dry, clean place to rest and the ability to graze outside when they want.”

The calves on the farm also receive special attention, including milk and feed formulated just for their needs. The calves are housed in a new barn with individual pens that are cleaned regularly.

“It is important to keep the calves in separate pens as their immune systems are not as robust as older animals, so the individuality keeps them healthy,” Julie said.

I Get By With a Little Help from My Friends

Julie is quick to attribute her success at dairy farming to several people including her husband, John, her children, her full-time employee, Matt Devilbiss, and her friend, Michael Heath.

“John is the glue that holds this farm together,” Julie said. “Without him, we wouldn’t be dairying.”

Although John and son Sean work full time off the farm at the family-owned sign company, John is involved in the farm daily, working with Julie to make large decisions and helping to fix machinery and fencing.

Daughter Ashley was Julie’s right-hand girl for many years on the dairy. Now engaged to a local dairyman, Ryan, Ashley is working full-time with her fiancée’s family, putting to good use the many skills and lessons she learned on the home farm.

“Now that Ashley is gone, Matt is who I rely on to help me with the day-to-day chores,” Julie says. “He loves our cows just as much as I do, so I know I can trust him to provide top-notch care.”

Julie’s friend, Michael Heath is a local Jersey cow expert. Several years ago, Michael began to help Julie regarding the purchasing and lineage of pedigreed Jersey cows. A cow’s pedigree refers to its family tree, including her paternal and maternal ancestors, and provides insight into a cow’s potential ability and value.

“Michael is my Jersey cow guru,” Julie said. “With his advice and guidance, I have been able to improve the pedigrees of our cows, making our farm more successful.”

Under the Sea

John and Julie aren’t just dairy farmers, they are also scuba divers. John gave his family scuba diving lessons one Christmas, and this hobby became Julie’s second passion, after the cows.

The couple has dived in many locations, including the Florida Keys, California, Bonaire, the Cayman Islands and in Morehead City, N.C.

Julie also volunteers every other week at the Baltimore Aquarium where she feeds the marine life, cleans tanks, and talks to visitors.

Gone Country

The music fades from the tractor as Julie brings her field work to an end for the day. She hops out of the tractor and makes her way to the milking parlor.

“The one thing that shocked me when we started farming is the amount of work it takes to keep the farm going,” Julie said. “The farm and the cows come before anything else. But it’s all worth it. We enjoy this lifestyle, and are proud to be one of the few farmers left in this country that feed the world.”

Sounds like ex-city folks John and Julie Mayer really have “Gone Country” and couldn’t be happier!