Five years ago, I stepped into the role of dairy brand leader for Farm Journal and editor of Dairy Herd Management and MILK Business Quarterly magazines. I remember the weight of that moment — the realization that I wasn’t just taking over a masthead; I was becoming a steward of the stories that define the U.S. dairy farmer.
Married to a dairy farmer myself, I didn’t come to this desk from an ivory tower. I came to it with the smell of silage on my jacket, mud on my boots and the reality of a fluctuating milk check in my bank account. My mission was simple, yet daunting: to provide the news producers need to survive, the features that honor their grit and the service journalism that helps them thrive in a margin revolution.
Looking back over the last 1,825 days, the dairy landscape has shifted beneath our feet. We’ve moved from talking about pounds of milk to the protein drive behind the milk check and beef-on-dairy becoming a major driver to our bottom-line. We’ve navigated global pandemics, bird flu outbreaks and a technological explosion that has turned the traditional barn into a data center. Through it all, my goal has remained the same: to be the voice that stands in the gap between the breaking news and the barn floor.
The Vision of a Girl Dad
Decades ago, when I was just 15 years old, my late father sat me down for a bit of career counseling. At the time, I was incredibly annoyed by it. He looked at me with that knowing glint in his eye and said, “K, I can see you driving a taxicab or writing for a national dairy magazine.”
I remember rolling my eyes, thinking those were two of the most disparate paths a person could take. But now, pushing 50 and with my dad gone for a decade, I find myself becoming misty-eyed. I realize he saw a vision in me long before I had the clarity to see it in myself. My dad knew two things about me: I could talk to absolutely anyone, and I had dairy in my DNA.
Today, I realize my job is actually a perfect hybrid of his two suggestions. I am a writer, yes, but I’ve spent the last five years as a “taxi driver” for the stories of the U.S. dairy farmer, logging thousands of miles to ensure their voices reach the destination they deserve.
The View from the Road
If you want to know the pulse of the dairy industry, you can’t find it behind an office desk. You find it in the humidity of a Florida morning, the high-altitude winds of Colorado and the quiet, rolling hills of the Oregon countryside.
This past year alone has been a whirlwind of boots on the ground journalism. My calendar hasn’t just been a schedule; it’s been a road map of the industry’s evolution. From high-level policy discussions at the IDFA Dairy Forum in Palm Springs to the sheer scale of the World Ag Expo in Tulare, I’ve seen the macro-trends taking shape. I’ve traveled across western Kansas, witnessed the explosive growth in the High Plains of Texas, felt the infectious energy of the next generation at YDLI in Tampa and walked the grounds of World Dairy Expo in Madison. To cap it all off, I’ve stood in the neon glow of Las Vegas for the Milk Business Conference — Farm Journal’s powerhouse event where the industry’s elite gather to navigate the complexities of the modern dairy business.
My passport has collected a few stamps, as I’ve traveled to the countryside of Ireland, central Chile and Paris to talk with global dairy leaders and producers who have opened their barn doors to me.
For me, the highlights have always been the moments I’ve put on my boots to tour a barn and visit with producers. Learning about their struggles, identifying their opportunities and listening to their passion is where I feel most at home. Regardless of where I am representing Farm Journal, my mission remains the same: find the story, vet the facts and serve the producer. As my boss often reminds me: “Cut through the noise.”
The Road Ahead
Five years in, I realize my father was right. I am a writer, and in a way, I am a driver. I drive the narrative. I drive the conversation. And occasionally, I drive a rental car through a downpour along the I-29 corridor in South Dakota to make sure I don’t miss a single interview.
Thank you to the producers who have opened their farm gates to me from Idaho to Ireland. To the readers who rely on Dairy Herd Management and MILK Business Quarterly to make sense of a volatile world: I do not take your trust lightly.
The dairy industry is in a state of constant evolution, but the grit of the people remains unchanged. As I look toward the next five years, I promise to keep my boots in the manure and my hands on the keyboard. I might have been annoyed by my father’s advice at 15, but at this milestone, I am nothing but grateful. My dad knew the world needs people who can tell the story of the land — and I’m honored to be the one behind the wheel.
