Time stood still for the Hebgen family that late October day in 2021. In fact, Nicki Hebgen remembers every detail of the day their second daughter Ela died in a tragic UTV accident at the family farm.

Anissa Borges and Dayana Limon Santiago traveled to Thailand with the California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB) as part of its international internship program this summer.

When Zachary Damrow first moved to Idaho, youth involvement in the dairy show industry was very minimal – and over the years, it continued to decline. After he and his wife had their two children, Callen and Dawson, Damrow felt inspired to ensure there would be something meaningful for them to be a part of.

As kids, we are often told to try new things. Whether it is a new food, or a new activity, or sport. Starting something new is supposed to be an opportunity to expand your horizons, see what you’re good at or enjoy and learn from your mistakes. Even in our adult lives, trying new things is a great way to continue learning, but sometimes as adults I feel like we are more intimidated to say yes than when we were kids.

To innovate in ways that bring the community together, Doug and Cortney Dotterer have ventured beyond traditional dairy farming, transforming a section of their land into a vibrant sunflower maze – a project that has become a local attraction. What began as a casual idea inspired by a farm in Kentucky has now flourished into an annual event, attracting thousands of visitors eager to experience the beauty of sunflowers and farm life.

The number one goal of a feeding program is to promote healthy development from birth to freshening. Additionally, we want to maximize each heifer’s growth and genetic potential to its fullest – while also promoting healthy hair coats, good muscle tone and ideal body condition – when it matters most, show days.

What do you get when two passionate dairy professionals decide that college students deserve a broader view of the dairy industry, an opportunity to connect the dots from farm to factory and to begin building their professional network all while keeping animal welfare and a healthy planet top of mind? Dairypalooza!

In the mid-to-late 2000s, dwindling university dairy herds and dairy programs in the Southwest led Dr. Mike Tomaszewski from Texas A&M and Dr. Robert Hagevoort from New Mexico State University (NMSU), along with Dr. Bob Collier, previously with the University of Arizona, to develop a program that provides university students with a hands-on dairy education to prepare them for careers in the dairy industry.

When dairyman Ralph Keel was asked to lend one of his cows for the launch of the educational program in Oklahoma, he was skeptical. However, as he witnessed a presentation by the mobile unit, he quickly began to love it.