A four day work-week is not a possibility for everyone. When Rick Thelen, who has worked on his family-owned dairy farm in Elkhorn, Wisconsin for over 50 years, was asked about getting Fridays off, he laughed, “You’re not familiar with the dairy farm, apparently.”
Thelen added: “A dairy farm works 24/7, seven days a week, holidays, no extra pay. You do your work, then you go socialize for a little bit, and then go get ready for tomorrow morning.”
While certain industries slow down in the summer, winter delivers (slightly) lighter demands. “You’re probably more free in the winter time, but not really,” Thelen offered. “You have to care more for the animals when it gets cold, more bedding is involved and water freezes, stuff like that, but there are no crops to take care of.”
The farmer’s final assessment: “If you want to do work, there is always work to do. Otherwise, you just walk away and you pay for it later in the bottom line.”
