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Karen Bohnert

Dairy Editorial Director

Karen Bohnert is the Dairy Editorial Director at Farm Journal, overseeing Dairy Herd Management and Milk Business Quarterly since 2021. A lifelong advocate for dairy, Karen draws from both professional expertise and personal experience—she and her husband operate Bohnert Jerseys, a 750-cow dairy in East Moline, Illinois.

Raised on a dairy farm in Oregon, her editorial career spans freelance journalism and roles at organizations like Swiss Valley Farms and the American Jersey Cattle Association. She was named a Distinguished Alumni Leader by the Holstein Foundation.

Latest Stories
Fueled by 19 months of herd expansion and record efficiency, the U.S. dairy industry hits a 16-month growth streak, marking its most aggressive production run in over two decades.
A historic NY farm pleads for help after 17 genotyped heifers were stolen, a theft mirroring a rising national trend of cattle rustling driven by record-high livestock values.
With profit expectations dropping to 46%, the 2026 Farm Journal State of the Dairy Industry Report reveals a gray skyline of rising costs, credit hurdles and a resilient paradox of strategic expansion.
With a steady hand on the tiller of trade and a watchful eye on biosecurity, the industry is poised to turn this era of investment into a legacy of global dominance.
Discover how Dr. Jody Kull takes dairy protocols in stagnant binders and creates fluid risk-management tools that improve calf care, transition health, and team communication.
As fuel costs drive consumers out of restaurants and back to their kitchens, a hidden dairy gap emerges, leaving the industry to rely on a surging export market to sustain demand.
From the 2025-30 Dietary Guidelines to the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, new policies are reclaiming dairy’s place in the American diet and unlocking major growth across the supply chain.
From 100 cows to 10,000, the dairy industry is a house divided. It’s time to look past the labor debate and rediscover the common bond that unites every family-owned operation.
From Wisconsin to New York, dairy leaders are trading clipboards for cloud-based logic, building a digital nervous system to master margins and protect a 250-year legacy.
Securing the “Made in the USA” label requires more than technology; it demands a stable, legal workforce and a national policy that recognizes dairy’s 365-day harvest reality.
Praise God for the goodness that being a farmer is — not because it is easy and not because it is always profitable, but because it gives us the eyes to see that an ordinary Tuesday can be the best day we have ever asked for.
As the gap between federal policy and dairy’s year-round reality widens, leaders in Texas and Idaho warn that a structural labor deficiency is pushing the industry toward a breaking point.
Ken McCarty shares his 18-month, layered roadmap for locking in 90% of fuel needs — a scalable strategy for any dairy looking to protect margins and eliminate energy market worry time.
DFA CEO Dennis Rodenbaugh outlines a shift from defense to proactive leadership, framing sustainability as a generational legacy of stewardship that empowers farmers of all sizes to lead innovation.
From Hilmar to the world, this California dairy farmer is driving the global dairy revolution as USDEC’s first female chair — bridging the gap between the family farm and international trade.