Helping to staff the popular “Calving Corner” at the Pennsylvania Farm show on Jan. 6 were (from left) Alex, Aiden, and Chelsea Empet, who shared their vast knowledge of dairy farming with curious Farm Show guests as they waited for the cow behind them to give birth.
Story and photo by Rick Hiduk
(originally published in the Susquehanna County Independent)
Guests at the Pennsylvania Farm Show eventually find their way to the Calving Corner, which is opposite the Dairy Corner staffed by PA Dairy Promotion royalty and ambassadors. Some visitors look forward to the off chance that cows very near giving birth might produce a calf right in front of them, while others seem somewhat surprised that the bovine moms are exposed to public scrutiny. For Alex, Aiden, and Chelsea Empet of Kingsley, who have raised cows all their lives, nothing could be more natural.
That’s why Alex worked at the Calving Corner in 2024 with long-time 4-H friend, Jack Kowalewski, and encouraged his siblings to pick up a shift with him this year. As long-time 4-H members, the Empets excel at bringing attention to farming and explaining its intricacies to curious passersby.
“I like educating the public and sharing my knowledge with them because they are the consumers, and they need to be educated about all the things in the dairy industry and how much farmers care about their cattle and all of that,” Chelsea stated confidently.
Though they had not yet witnessed the birth of any of several calves that came into the world since the beginning of this year’s Farm Show – including two that morning before their shift – there was a cow behind them that they felt was getting close due to her acting restless and showing some discharge. “The other one will be tomorrow most likely,” said Chelsea, pointing at another cow in the spacious, comfortable enclosure.
“The most common question (from guests) is ‘When are they going to calve?’ and you really don’t know until they’re ready to go,” Alex explained. “Eventually, the water bag will go, and you know that labor is imminent within about an hour.” Even Alex has never seen a calf born at the Farm Show, he noted. At home, however, Alex said, “I’ve seen at least a hundred born.”
Approximately 150 cows on the Empet’s farm are just part of a menagerie that numbers around 350 animals. Theirs a story of farming becoming a labor of love that they not only never want to leave, they want to become a bigger part of it. Each of the three has eyes on a future of making farming more efficient and ensuring that the public reaps the benefits of their dedication.
“We’re all probably going to end up in an agriculture field somewhere,” Aiden suggested. “I like science and biology and learning about that kind of stuff.”
Alex is already attending SUNY Cobleskill, where he has been learning a lot about dairy record keeping. “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. So, if you can at least say, ‘Well I did this last year, and this year’s better, then why?’ That’s what I find interesting,” Alex related. “I also find reproduction pretty interesting. I’m hoping to go home and take over the family farm and try to improve cow management the best I can.”
“I’m interested more in the business end of it so I can manage finances and those aspects of the farm,” Chelsea offered. “I really like math and science, which can be unpopular, but their my favorite subjects.” Chelsea is a senior at Mountain View School District, and Aiden is a sophomore.
Glancing back at the Farm Show cows on their watch, the siblings summed up what they love most about the gentle giants.
“My job on the farm is taking care of the calves,” said Chelsea, “so I love seeing them being born and watching them become mature dairy cows producing milk.”
“I like feeding them, making sure they have fresh food and water all the time and just making sure that they are the best they can be,” Aiden noted. His siblings added that Aiden also excels at field work and tractor driving in the summertime “and making sure the cows are consuming nutritional feed so that they produce high-quality milk,” said Chelsea.
As it turned out, the cow they thought would give birth during their shift did not. But they enjoyed the opportunity to be dairy ambassadors in their own right for that night that the Farm Show.