“He’s probably one of the most successful farmers I know,” says Kyle Rupp of his dad, Gary. “He started from the ground up and made all of this possible.”

A hay‑scouting trip in the early ’70s becomes a snapshot in time, complete with a ’66 Ford, new country and one unexpected rock in the trunk.

There’s a certain sound that lives in the countryside. It’s not a song you hear on the radio, but one that settles into your bones over a lifetime. The value and assets dairy producers build over a lifetime can’t be taken with them, but they can be directed with a purpose.  

Not only is June a great time to indulge in numerous dairy treats, but it is also the perfect time for us to celebrate what we as dairy producers do throughout the year, as well as teach consumers about the dairy industry.

I think it is safe to say that all of us experience both good days and bad days.

Part of being on a farm in the last three or four decades, I would argue, is the feeling of being misunderstood – or worse, forgotten. The harder it became to make a living in the industry, the more it felt like no one cared. The sense of tribalism, at least my participation in it, was to reassure myself that there were others like me and my family and that we still mattered. 

I learned a number of years ago that the raising of the American flag at Iwo Jima was nothing like it is portrayed in Washington D.C.

The plagues of Egypt. What an awesome, awful story. It has always made me shudder and wonder why a loving God would bring such curses upon the entire country of Egypt when it was Pharaoh who made all the decisions.