Minnesota Dairy Initiative (MDI) wrapped up two successful dairy farm couple night out events in Greenwald and Utica in early December. This is the second year that MDI has hosted farm couple night out events and this is the first year that they were specifically for dairy producers.
The evening began at 7 pm with a welcome from MDI State Director Emily Mollenhauer. Attendees had time to socialize with other dairy farming couples while they enjoyed a roast beef dinner. After dinner was complete, the educational part of the evening began.
Monica McConkey, Minnesota Agricultural Mental Health Specialist, and Emily Krekelberg, Extension Educator in Farm Safety and Health, were the speakers for the evening. The evening began with Monica McConkey talking about intentional investment. Monica and the groups discussed how easy it is to invest in the dairy farm, but how we don’t always invest in our relationships.
The attendees then took the 5 Love Languages Quiz and discussed their results. Emily Krekelberg presented on the importance of communication styles and how they impact our relationships. Emily had the couples take another quiz that told them their communication style and couples were to think of ways to communicate with their partner, utilizing the respective communication style of their partner. Lastly, Emily Krekelberg taught the importance of active listening.
As the evening concluded, couples were able to hang around and socialize with one another. MDI strives to provide education regarding communication and mental health for dairy farmers. These dairy farm couple night out events provided an opportunity for dairy farmers to not only learn, but enjoy positive social time as well.
