Next-Generation Dairy Producers
Nearly 300 million acres of U.S. farmland are expected to change hands in the next 20 years. Beyond the transfer of land, and the often-complex succession planning process, investing in the next generation involves the transfer of skills and knowledge. Now’s the time to cultivate multigenerational success through asset, resource and financial stewardship.
An ‘ah-ha’ moment when young leaders realize the power within themselves to advocate for the dairy industry often unfolds at the Holstein Foundation’s Young Dairy Leaders Institute (YDLI). This year was no exception.
All I can say is God bless American dairy farmers. You work hard despite the hardships that come your way. We need dairy farmers to continue to push forward to produce nutritious dairy products to feed the world.
I encourage you to look at the star players on teams, and when you get to know more about them, more times than not, you’ll learn they learned all they needed to excel in sports from growing up on a farm.
Ask any dairy farmer how they feel about today’s markets and they will say that the economics don’t add up. This is true in any state, but certainly being highlighted in Wisconsin, as last year they lost 455 dairy farms.
With a slogan of “raised, not sourced,” Tim Haer had a wild idea to differentiate their business: create a vending machine to sell meat produced on their family’s farm, an idea he says that’s been wildly successful.
In just a decade on the farm, Virginia dairy farmer Ben Smith’s journey has been one of dedication and innovation, which is what makes him the 2023 Milk Business Young Producer Award winner.
Lance Sommers has transformed his family’s 2,000-acre grain and dairy farm by integrating technology and boosting efficiency to free up time to refocus efforts on other aspects of their operation.
In 1984, Farm Journal’s personal ads connected Pat, a farm girl from Iowa, with Doug, a dairyman from New York, sparking a love story that led to marriage and the fourth generation of Fuller Acres Farm.