The first of many pairs of boots

We recently celebrated our daughter’s first birthday and one of the absolute cutest gifts she received was her first pair of cowgirl boots. While these adorable little brown and pink boots are mostly for looks until she becomes more confident with her walking skills, I admit that it was an obvious rite of passage for her little farm girl self. If you’re looking for a total crowd pleaser, just put a baby in little cowgirl boots and take a spin around a local event. Trust me, the smiles and comments will flood your mind.

As she puts on these little boots and we enjoy the cuteness, I think about the endless pairs of boots in her future – some will certainly be more practical than others. Boots are one of the most important staple foods for farm children and farmers alike. Whether you need work boots for stomping through the muck, insulated boots for long winter days trudging through the snow, or a nice pair of cowboy boots for a night out to dinner with the neighbors, we tend to go through quite a few of these shoe choices .

In the world of farm parenting, children outgrow their bootstraps so quickly that they are passed on to siblings and cousins ​​to use. As they grow older, they join the company of their parents and grandparents and wear one pair of work boots after another.

Just as children get a new backpack or pair of tennis shoes at the start of each school year, farmers spend days at the start of each season buying new boots that will hopefully last for months to come. Some of us find a trustworthy style and brand that we remain loyal to, while others are destined to continue trying every option in hopes of finding the magic formula that combines comfort and durability (a rare treasure indeed ). I unfortunately fall into the second category as I tend to either wear out boots incredibly quickly or find the faulty pair that leak within a few weeks of first wearing them. I admit that in my world, finding good boots is a major, ongoing frustration.

Right now, buying cute boots for our daughter and future son (surprise, in 2025 we’ll be buying little cowboy boots too!) is a lot more fun than the routine work boot purchases for my husband and I.

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The author runs dairy farms with her parents and brother near Hawkeye, Iowa. The family milks approximately 300 Windsor Valley Dairy LLC Holstein cows, half in a double-eight parallel milking parlor and four robotic milking units. In the spring of 2020, Molly decided to take a step and fully live her love of the industry by returning to her family’s dairy full-time.