Young and exuberant, Katelyn Packard would say that everything kind of fell into place with her role and responsibilities as a sixth-generation dairy farmer. Returning back to the family farm in Manchester, Mich., was always at the forefront of Katelyn’s mind. During her time at Michigan State, she did a couple of internships and learned one valuable lesson.
“I mainly learned that I didn’t want to work in an office no work in sales,” she says.
After graduating, Katelyn headed back to the home dairy, Horning Farms, which is home to 400 cows and 1,000 acres. The farm is owned and operated by Katelyn’s father and grandfather, along with her and her brother, Mason.
Katelyn’s responsibilities focus on the cow side of things, specifically with handling treatment protocols, vaccination protocols, mastitis management and parlor management.
Katelyn says that her brother focuses on the crop side of the business, which complements her role.
“We both kind of have our own thing to manage and it works really, well,” she says.
The young dairy farmer says that technology plays a huge part in her role in caring for the cattle. Two years ago, the farm implemented CowManager which she says has been a huge asset.
“We’ve seen huge increases in our reproductive numbers. We’ve seen huge benefits on the health side of things, too,” she says. “It’s been amazing to have that technology to help oversee the cow health portion of our farm.”
The farm embraces technology in the cropping side of the business, too. Mason uses GPS for planting.
“I’ll pull up the satellite map and on Mason’s phone and it’s estimating how the corn is doing and how well a field is performing and it’s really amazing to have all that technology and just everything shows up on your smartphone,” she says.
Katelyn says that venturing into new technology like CowManager become an option because they now have someone to manage that technology. This holds true on the cropping side, as her brother now can oversee the farming side.
“Having more people that can help manage more projects is very helpful,” she says. “I think in the past couple of years we’ve gotten better at utilizing some of our employees to manage specific projects so that we can dive into some different projects. It’s critical to let go of some stuff on our own plate, too. Or it just gets too overwhelming.”
The Horizon
One project Horning Farms is working on is to expand its manure storage. Katelyn says they have been working with the NRCS regarding costs and they are hopeful that they can break ground next year and move this project forward.
She shares that in the long run the family would like to increase more acreage to better help with crop rotation and have more flexibility with farming. The family also started a small shop about two years ago, where they sell cheese and butter, along with some homegrown beef and chicken.
“This has allowed us to get closer to the consumer,” she says. “I think that’s a really big opportunity for us right now that consumers are interested in farming and interested in local food. And I think that’s definitely an opportunity going forward
Katelyn says that she wholeheartedly enjoys working outside, as it keeps her physically active.
“But it’s also mentally stimulating, too,” she adds. “I like that I’m problem-solving.”
Outstanding YC’er
Horning Farms ships to Michigan Milk Producers Association (MMPA) and Katelyn’s involvement with the cooperative started before she returned to the family farm. She interned with MMPA in college and her husband, Joe, works for the cooperative.
Katelyn’s true love for the industry naturally made her get involved in her cooperative YC program. Earlier this year she was awarded the 2022 MMPA Outstanding Young Dairy Cooperator award.
“I’m really excited because this opportunity lets me learn more about what’s going on at the co-op level,” she says. “I also get to attend NMPF annual meeting and get to meet more leaders within our cooperative, but also within our industry.”
Katelyn is thankful that her father has allowed things to fall into place and allowed her the freedom of fully embracing the herd health portion of the farm. While, like most farmers, Katelyn is happy that milk prices have sung a happier tune in 2022, she believes that working alongside her family, who allows others to do their job, that good things will follow in the years to come.
“Our employees have been here longer than most other farms,” Packard said. “There’s not a lot of room to get promoted to senior vice president, but you can be in charge of more projects and more things. My dad is really good at recognizing what people’s skills and talents are and trying to keep them going in that direction. That kind of thing keeps people happy and makes them want to stay around.”
Story adapted from November/December Milk Messenger by the Michigan Milk Producers Association.
