Brilee Tucker - Kentucky Dairy Development Council
Brilee Tucker is a graduate of Western Kentucky University. She currently works for the Kentucky Dairy Development Council as a dairy consultant.
“My main goal as a consultant is to be a resource for Kentucky’s dairy producers and work with our organization to provide educational opportunities that allow those producers to enhance and progress their operations. Having hands-on experience from my time at the university dairy allows me to understand on a personal level the hardships that producers face on a day-to-day basis and how strenuous the job is having a herd of cattle that rely on you every day.
“WKU Dairy has been in operation since at least the 1930’s. For almost 100 years it’s provided a home and learning environment for many students, including myself. I graduated from WKU in the spring of 2021 with my bachelor’s degree in agriculture. Five of my six semesters I was employed at the dairy and lived on the university farm. I did not grow up with a dairy background but knew that I wanted to be involved in the industry when I started showing dairy cattle through 4H. I’ve made a lot of friends showing cattle and would often say that my friends went to college to get a break from milking cows while I went to college so I could milk cows!
Working on the university dairy gave me the practical knowledge I would need to be able to relate to the producers that I work with now. I was also able to see the growth that can happen on a farm when you pay attention to detail and really dial in your management. The change that WKU dairy was able to make from the time I started in the spring of 2019 to the end of my time there in spring of 2021 was astounding. We grew in cow numbers, quality, and production. Witnessing that improvement also gives me a testimony to producers that small details really do add up – what you feed, how you feed, when you feed, the way you interact with the cows, calf care. it all matters!
Today WKU Dairy is now home to the SmartHolstein Lab, a partnership with Holstein USA. There are projects and new technologies on display there for producers to come see for themselves and potentially implement them on their own farms. Working on the university dairy was one of my favorite phases in life and I feel certain that it helped mold the career I have today. Tops on top!”