Mutual Respect Helps Get
The Work Done On Teabow Farms
DAVE LEFEVER
Lancaster Farming Staff
WALKERSVILLE, Md. Milking 785 Hol
steins three a day is no small job.
The first challenge is to find good, reliable work
ers. Then you have to make sure they stay happy.
At Teabow, Inc. in Frederick County, the work
ing crew is settling into a routine after a major ex
pansion last year that included construction of a
new-freestall barn and double-24 parallel parlor.
For owners Jim and Louise Stup and herd mana
gers Larry and Melissa Jarvis, the three Mexican
employees hired last fall play a big part in helping
the operation run smoothly.
Jose Cerapio Santos, Alberto Rodriguez, and
Pedro de la Cruz are on the milking crew for the
night shift, from 5 p.m. to 3 a.m. They milk the
entire herd once, then milk the first half of the herd
again before their shift is over. Friday is their day
off.
Pedro de la Cruz takes a break from clean
ing out free-stalls. He said he hopes to have
longtime employment on Teabow Farms.
Jim Stup, owner of Teabow, Inc., left, and
herd manager Larry Jarvis are happy with
the quality of the Mexican workers on the
dairy.
Santos, Rodriguez, and de la Cruz all hail from
the state of San Luis Potosi, about 200 miles north
of Mexico City. They have had diverse agricultural
experience in the U.S. prior to coming to Teabow
Farms. Santos, the oldest of the three, said he
worked more than 25 years on dairy farms in Texas
and Mexico, but prefers his new job.
“The pay is better here,” he said.
The three applied in person for the job last last
fall when they heard from some fellow countrymen
working on a neighboring dairy farm near Walkers
ville that Teabow was looking for milkers. They
now live together with several other family mem
bers on a house near the farm.
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