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Kids and cream rise to the top, veerrrrry early, in Lewiston By
Charmaine Burningham Lawyer
Kent Buttars prepares to address the business end of a cow. There are 229 others, just like her, needing to be miled every day right after 4 a.m. / Photo by Charmaine Burningham Laywer LEWISTON -- Kent Buttars has to hurry because Kay is waiting for him in the darkness. Trying to stay asleep, Robyn Buttars wakes only slightly as Kent slips out of their room, as she rolls over enough to see the clock read 4 a.m. After 23 years of marriage, Robyn knows that nothing will stop Kent from going to meet Kay. Kent ventures out into the slate blue morning made especially dark by a damp blanket of unseen clouds. The chalkboard storm has made this Tuesday morning especially eerie. As Kent stumbles to the barn, he hears the low murmur of 230 heifers. Kay waits in the pen with the other Holsteins, a type of cow with distinctive black and white cloud shaped markings. Kent moves deftly through his morning routine. He revs up the automated milking machines with a relaxed and efficient manner. The cows are herded in 14 at time. If they needed a little encouragement, he clucks at them like a TV movie cowboy. When an errant heifer refuses to get in the proper order behind her fellow cow, a swift bark from Kent motivates her. Taking care of cows uses up most of Kent's time. If he isn't milking, he is working with his sons to clean out the pens, nurse a sick cow or tend to crops. "Sometimes
it seems like he Does Kent's dairy farming take up too much of his time? "Sure," said Sarah Buttars, the 21 year-old daughter of Kent and Robyn, "Sometimes it seems like he is more married to the cows than my mom." The bonds between the husband and wife are deeper than Sara's lighthearted words indicate. When Kent and Robyn are together there appears to be a warm companionship between that results from years of leaning on each other rather than away. Even if the difficulties of running a modern dairy farm hadn't forced them to grow together, take one look at Robyn Buttars and you will see why Kent starts and ends his days at her side . Robyn looks as if she could be a former Dairy Princess instead of just a local pageant committee member. Her two rows of perfect, corn-kernel teeth are often framed by a smile. This inviting characteristic is a Butterfield trait according to members of the Buttars family. Robyn's father, Col. Henry Blake Butterfield, was known for his endearing grin. Most of his kids and many of his grandkids inherited the winning smile. Robyn is quick to point out that she made a good choice herself. She is relieved that she doesn't have to nag Kent to get of bed and do the milking. She sounds like Kent's personal cheerleader as her voice intensity and pitch heightens as she describes her hard working honey. "He's a plodder, if there is stuff to be done he just keeps going and going and going." It is still early fall, but the barn is chilly. Kent, who has jolly good looks and a manly gentleness, appears comfortable in his blue windbreaker, Holstein Association baseball cap and green rubber gloves. He won't be so comfortable in a couple of months when winter settles on Cache Valley. The typical temperature for Lewiston can drop into the teens, and stay there nonstop. The early morning milking become especially challenging during these bleak, frigid times. One remedy the Buttars family uses is to stand in a scalding shower until it warms up the blood. This method is reported to last for almost an hour. Today, Kent rubs down the teats of the cows ready to be milked as the other Holsteins saunter in from their pens outside. The cows blend with automation as they step into their individual areas and wait patiently for the milking machines. A metal tube is placed on each teat by Kent and the other milkers. The cold cylinder extracts the milk and shoots it down a rubber yellow tube to the holding area. The barn milks 14 cows at a time with mechanical milkers. Dallin Buttars, Kent's son, said he has never milked the cows by hand, but could if he had to. Calling the Buttars facility a barn really isn't adequate. Their modern milking facility is large by Cache Valley standards although Kent said it would pale in comparison with some of the New England dairies that milk around the clock. The building alone is worth about $150,000. When you add up the worth of their 230 Holsteins at $1,500 each, the entire production represents a $1.5 million investment. Surprisingly, the smell really isn't as bad as you would expect. The Buttars family runs a clean facility. In fact, veterinarians who service Cache Valley farms choose to get their milk from the Buttars dairy because they see how it is has been produced. The owners of this facility are brothers Kent and Craig Buttars, who continue the work their grandpa started in 1913. Both brothers grew up on the farm and enjoyed working with their dad. "Yep, I've pretty much been doing this all of my life," said Kent. "When I was in high school I thought I would do something different, but then in 1974 when I got back from my LDS mission, my dad had died and the farm was just kinda waiting for me." Like the cows that file into the barn and line up in a routine fashion, Kent just followed a lifestyle he had been living for years. The cows are "creatures of habit, just like us. They know when to come in and when to go," said Kent. After the machines finish milking, the cows begin to parade out of the barn in a single row. Obviously, milking cows is hard work, especially when you have to do both shifts at 4 a.m. and then again at 4 p.m. Kent lives this lifestyle because it "is a good way to raise a family. You get to spend a lot more time with your kids than you would if they were out working another job." Robyn agrees with Kent. "I do think this lifestyle is beneficial," said Robyn. Robyn doesn't work with Kent in the barn, but she supports her family in other ways. "I do the books, I answer the phones, business stuff," said Robyn. Her daily grind also includes being a home health care nurse, a songwriter and the mother of five children. So how did a daughter of an Army colonel and a Spudnut Shop owner learn all about Holsteins? "I kinda did it by being here" says Robyn. Unlike her husband and children, Robyn has no desire to be out in the barn. Robyn is enthusiastic when asked about the effect of the farm on her family. "It has had a huge impact! The farm is our life. Our life revolves around the farm," she said. In fact, at the dinner table last night her boys were all discussing the sexual escapades of cows in the barn. "We were discussing what bulls to use with which cows," she said. Strangely enough, the Buttars family chooses to take their farm with them when they travel. "Our vacations are all dairy related," said Robyn who explained that the family usually attends National Holstein Association events and shows their cows at fairs as part of their vacations. The National Holstein Conventions are primarily for the farmer, but they also include interesting activities for wives and children. "They have shopping sprees, rides to local spots, amusement parks, lunches with entertainment. Last time in New Mexico, I got to ride the Tram up the side of the mountain" said Robyn. Everyone in the family likes to go on vacation together and they all say that the two youngest children, Chalese and Dallin are always entertaining. Dallin, who is 11-years-old, has a head full of unruly dark locks while Chalese has a copper Irish crown of curls. Eager to be interviewed, Chalise and Dallin sat for over an hour on bar stools without complaint. Like typical siblings, Chalise and Dallin were intent on upstaging one another on every question. Dallin insisted that he works harder on the farm than Chalise because he did both the inside and outside chores. Upon hearing this statement, Chalise's 7-year-old freckled face suddenly turned as red as her hair. The quickest way to insult a Buttars is to say she doesn't work hard. Before you get any ideas that they are country bumpkins, just ask them what their favorite TV show is. "Channel 5 news," said Dallin, to which Chalese replied, "Actually I like 20/20 or Dateline better." Dallin said he was very displeased with the second presidential debate. He thought Al Gore didn't know what he was talking about. Dallin said Mr. Gore's foreign policy plans were all wrong. Gore's tactical errors and liberal views make Governor George W. Bush an easy winner with Dallin. Dallin observed that America should rely on NATO to do more of the work in Europe. Chalise got a little behind during this part of the conversation, but said she was pretty sure she had heard about NATO on Dateline. Robyn says simply, "My kids are different." Robyn thinks her children have learned more from the hard work they do on the farm. "They go and they work. They don't just work in the summer either," said Robyn. The reference to summer is important because it is a uniquely busy time on the farm. The increased seasonal chores often requires each Buttars child to work 10 to 15 hours a day. "They grow up and they learn that it has to be done, besides on Sundays they only work 3 to 8 hours." Only 3 to 8 hours? So are there ever problems getting those kids up and out of bed for the 4 a.m. feedings? "Oh heavens yes!, they all love to sleep. Sometimes their dad has to go up there and get them up," said Robyn. The Buttars children spend a lot of their time with their father. Robyn feels this reflects directly in their success. "I think it is a real positive thing, they all respect and have a good relationship with him." In addition, "Many of them have developed his interest. This farm interest is definitely Kent's, it is definitely not mine," said Robyn. In fact their eldest son, Nicolas, won the prestigious National Distinguished Junior Member award from the National Holstein Association two years ago when he was 19-years-old. "So much of it is because Kent is there and he works every bit as hard as them. They know that if they don't work, then he will have to do it all and that just isn't possible," said Robyn. Kent seems astonished that anyone would find his childrens' willingness to help out unusual. "I often have to tell Kent this isn't a normal, typical situation for kids these days," said Robyn. The long hours take their toll when the kids have other things to do and then you might hear some grumbling, "but we try our hardest so they get to do the things they want to do." "They grow up and learn it has to be done. They are very capable," said Robyn. When things get really tough, many people would want to leave. Just pack it up and walk off the farm. But Robyn said that just hasn't happened to her. "No there has never been a moment like that." She said. But things do get very hard. "When finances are bad, and you've worked so hard." Robyn's voice trails off for the first time in the conversation. She sounds tired. "When they have sick animals, or equipment breaks, or when milk prices are down, those are stressful times," said Robyn. It seems, however, that the battery-packed Kent just plods on through those times with a bit of understatement. "One of the cows is sick" is just about all he'll say. If you want the gory details about what can go wrong, you'll have to ask his sons. The love to tell stories of "engorged teats" and the like. The news-watching Dallin may be the best bet for extensive commentary. "You have to expand your mind, you have to know about more than a little town like Lewiston. That's why I watch the news," said Dallin. Dallin and his siblings aren't like many other kids their age. "Some of the kids I know work on dairy farms too, but not very many of them like to watch the news," said Dallin. He likes news for lots of reasons, but mostly because it is something he gets to do with his dad. At the end of the day, family is what matters at the Buttars dairy farm.
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