Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 7
Page 8
Page 9
Page 10
Page 11
Page 12
Page 13
Page 14
Page 15
Page 16
Page 17
Page 18
Page 19
Page 20
Page 21
Page 22
Page 23
Page 24
Page 25
Page 26
Page 27
Page 28
Page 29
Page 30
Page 31
Page 32
18 Ag Families-Fall Rock is confident the Lord isnt finished with him yet. Thesupportofthecommunitymyfamilythe doctors and nurses and physical therapists the prosthetics people at Louisville Prosthetics everyone has been so kind and so helpful. Its hardtoaccepthelpbutsometimesyoujusthave toRock said. After the accident Rock said he never felt like he needed to quit farming or look for another way of life. This is what I know. This is what I do he said. Rock speaks in churches from time to time but one of his favorite outreach activities is talking with children. Kids arent scared of prosthetics he said. Theyre fascinated by them and want to see how they work so I show them. As for his dairy business Rock and his employees are going about business as usual along with a few adjustments. He still drives his own truck which has been outfitted with hand controls and a wheel- chair lift from Vocational Rehab a company he said is great. They came out here to the barn and we showed them what I used to do and how I used to do it and they helped figure out how I can get back to doing almost everything I used to with a few mod- ifications. Rock Brothers Dairy milks 130 cows twice a day 365 days a year on land that has been in his family for 280 years. The operation has about the same number of replacement cows from babies to heifers ready to rotate into the daily milking when the time is right. Rock said an operation of this size will be hard to pass down to the next generation. In this age of mega-companies its hard for the small to medium- sized family farm to survive he said. Diversification is the key to success Growing your business doesnt always mean adding more cows. It might mean finding a niche market to produce an- other revenue stream. Some dairies are making their own cheese some are giving tours. Well just have to see what works out. For now his no. 1 goal aside from milking cows is to inspire oth- ers and to be an encouragement. Through tragedy Ive had a lot of doors opened to me and I have learned that tragedy can be the start of a great blessing. I shouldnt be sitting here talking to youhe said.I probably should have died but I didnt and I gure that for now at least my purpose on this Earth is to be milking cows. That may change and if the Lord leads me to something elseImopen.ButthewayI seeitstuhappens toeverybody.IfI caninspireothersbytellingmy story then thats what I am supposed to do. Rock is a big believer in not squandering his second cchhaannccee aatt lliiffee.. DairyfarmerGaryRockperformsthetasksofmorningmilking.Someactivities heperformsfromhiswheelchairwhileothertaskslikecleaningteatsand vattachingmilkersrequirehimtostandatwhichhesimprovingeveryday.PHO TO BY RAEWAGONER