Despite the cold weather and snow on the ground, 66 students came out to participate in this year’s Mideast Regional Dairy Challenge. Held in Wooster, Ohio, the dairy challenge focused on the students’ ability to evaluate a dairy farm.

The Murray family of Waterloo, New York, is no stranger to the concept of marketing. With nearly two decades of experience in merchandising Holstein cattle and genetics worldwide, the family has developed the skills to sell a quality product.

Perry Tjaarda "Tjaarda Dairy is a Gold Standard Dairy, signifying a commitment to high standards for quality milk production and environmental stewardship, and was honored as a Member of Distinction Farm in 2009." —Glenn Wallace, Chief Operating Officer, DFA Western Area

At Shiloh Dairy LLC in Brillion, Wisconsin, the philosophy is simple: build better cows, not more cows.

Al Schock found happiness believing in other people, telling jokes and selling pancake tickets.

Kenny Mattingly did not plan on becoming a cheese maker when he decided to return to his family farm in Austin, Kentucky. He just wanted to get back to doing something he loved, being a dairy farmer like his father.

James P. “Tom” Camerlo, of Pueblo, Colorado, passed away on December 3, 2009 after a courageous battle with cancer.

A few years ago, Tom Wall with Language Links, LLC, spent the holiday season in Mexico visiting with the families of U.S. dairy employees. Having worked with those employees back in the States, it was very apparent to him that if granted their Christmas wish, they would all like to be together for the holidays.

Publishers’ note: Clair Yardley was a great friend to us here at Progressive Dairyman and to many in the dairy industry. He loved working with dairymen to help them solve their problems. One afternoon, Clair was out on an Idaho dairy watching the dairy try to deal with a whole bunch of sloppy manure. He turned to his friend and said “Wayne, (Loewen Welding) – couldn’t you vacuum this up with one of your tanks?” From that conversation the idea for the Loewen Honey-Vac was born. Over the next few years, Clair was responsible for identifying several product enhancements for the Honey-Vac.

Producers all over the country are proud to dairy. Another producer has found a new way to share that pride at her local fair.