Georgia Dairy Family Enjoys Rewarding Work

Roger Lamar was born into dairy farming, and he says that’s been a blessing.

“My father was a dairy farmer so I grew up around it,” he says. “I learned from him and now I’m passing along what I know to my children.”

Lamar knows a good deal about dairy farming. Named Dairy Farm Family of the Year of Putnam County in 2015, the Lamars milk a herd of 80 cows twice a day at their operation in Eatonton, which is known as the Dairy Capital of Georgia. Lamar sells his milk working with the Dairy Farmers of America cooperative.

Lamar has a positive outlook for the future of his dairy farm and for Georgia’s dairy industry. “It’s all about how much work you are willing to put in,” he says. Animal care, Lamar says, is the key to running a successful operation.

“You have to take good care of the cows, keep them fed the right nutrition, make sure they are healthy and comfortable,” he says. “That’s the only way a farm can make it. The better you care for the animals, the better they produce.”

Lamar says dairy farming is hard work, but rewarding.

“You have to love it to do it well,” he says. “It’s a rain or shine job, seven days a week all year ’round. The cows have to be taken care of, milked and the milk has to be sold. That’s your life, but it’s a good life.”