He dreaded the day the truck came to load up his cows. But when the first load went on the trailer and they drove down the road, suddenly a thousand-pound weight was lifted from his chest and he could breathe again.

He battled with the decision for months. Knowing he was going to have to give up a herd of cows that he bred, developed, and enjoyed working with was a brutal reality that he had to face. They didn’t work in his operation, and frustration was a daily battle.

Sure, his dairy-farming career would continue, he had hundreds of other cows that he would wake up to every day – but this herd was special. He had deep-pedigreed cow families as a result of careful evaluation of their genetics. Some turned out better than expected and others were common milk cows.

He held his breath for weeks, wondering if he was really going to have to make the ultimate decision to sell this herd of favorites. Finally, he made the deal and the cows were sold.

Much to his surprise, when the truck and trailer turned out of the farm yard, he felt lighter with a positive perspective that gazed up the road looking for the future to unfold.

This is a place where many dairymen find themselves today. Because of the present dairy economy that has been the reality for five years straight, many producers are standing on the threshold, holding tight to their past while their future slips through their hands.

They look ahead and see nothing but sadness and regret, all while turning back to peruse a glorious, albeit embellished, history of their dairy farm past. What will others think? What will we do? How will we live? Could there ever be life after cows?

Yes. Yes. A thousand times, yes.

Making the decision to change anything requires a certain amount of faith and courage. But once you make it, the hardest part is over. You are left with the opportunity to move forward, the opportunity to start something new, the opportunity to walk into a future.

I’ll never forget what my dad told me one time when I was facing a difficult decision: “Melissa, you can’t hold your breath forever.”

If you’re in that place of making a tough decision, whatever it may be, take a deep breath and, with courage in hand, decide. You’ll be amazed at how much relief that next breath will bring.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Melissa Hart may write to her in care of this publication.