(Click here to listen to the online exclusive audio interview with past intern Jackie Florent.) Golden Oaks Farm in Wauconda, Illinois, is known for a high-quality genetics program – including work in embryo transfer – in both the Holstein and Red and White breeds. In fact, nearly 70 percent of the herd is registered, which is fairly atypical for a dairy of its size. The milking herd consists of about 625 animals with an additional 600 youngstock raised at the farm. Located on the outskirts of Chicago, the farm also regularly hosts tours, not only for cow family enthusiasts but also for the general public, including local schools.

This article was #17 of the Top 25 most well-read articles on www.progressivedairy.com in 2012. to jump to the article. It was published in the November 1, 2011 Extra. Click here for the full list of the Top 25. Ever wonder what happened to Charlie from the original version of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory? He became a dairy veterinarian in New York. This article featured Dr. Peter Ostrum and his decision to go back on camera for Pfizer Animal Health’s YouTube series, “Veterinarians On Call.”

Age: My real age is 65, and I am lucky to enjoy excellent health. For the most part, I don’t feel any different than I did 20 years ago – except maybe I don’t quite have the stamina that I used to have! Location: Southern Lancaster County, Pennsylvania My dairy’s history: This is excellent dairy country, and my dad and mom started the farm in 1942. Ownership transferred to my brother Joe and me in the late ’60s. My son, Byron, and daughter, Lisa, run the farm now. If I wasn’t a dairyman, I would be ... I really never gave it much thought. When I left the farm for college, I considered engineering or sales, but neither worked into a career choice for me.

After 36 years of teaching at Texas A&M University, Michael Tomaszewski has seen the number of universities with dairy programs decrease. Without a dairy close to his own campus in College Station, Texas, Tomaszewski took his university’s Introduction to Dairy Science course to the Internet in 2008.

In today’s society many things get replaced even if they still work. Dairyman Jake Wedeberg of Gays Mills, Wisconsin, wants to know why farmers are looking into hydrogen, compressed natural gas and electric tractors when the diesel engine is still working effectively. “The original diesel engine that Rudolph Diesel designed was made to run on peanut oil,” Wedeberg says. “His idea was to be self-sufficient on your own farm. Now, 100 years later, we are going back to that same idealism.” As the on-farm sustainability coordinator for Organic Valley Co-op, Wedeberg is passionate about finding new ways to implement renewable resources on as many farms within the farmer-owned co-op as possible.

My dairy background: My dairy background started 65 years ago (approximately 44 years before I was born!), when my grandpa moved our herd to its current location. My two sisters and I are the 4th generation to dairy farm in our family. Year in school and area of study: I am currently a senior, graduating at the end of this winter quarter, majoring in agricultural communications with a minor in animal science. If I wasn’t studying agriculture/dairy, I would be ... traveling the world. I love to see new, beautiful places!

Hometown: Garrett, Indiana My dairy background: Growing up as the middle child with two brothers, I worked on my family’s fifth-generation, 200-cow dairy, 5,000 annual market hog operation, and I helped to maintain nearly 2,000 acres of corn, soybeans, wheat and hay. Year in school and area of study: I am currently a senior at Purdue University majoring in agricultural economics with a minor in farm management and animal sciences. If I wasn’t studying agriculture/dairy, I would be ... most likely majoring in horticulture to start my own greenhouse business.

Hometown: Tillamook, Oregon My dairy background: My grandpa started our dairy about 50 years ago in Forest Grove, Oregon. In the mid-70s we relocated to Tillamook. My dad now owns the dairy, which has about 200 head of registered Jerseys (with two Brown Swiss and a Holstein thrown in there). Other than employing one milker, the farm is operated by my father, one of my three brothers and myself. I go back to the farm, which is about 100 miles from OSU, every weekend to work. We take pride in having a family-run operation. Year in school and area of study: I am currently a sophomore in agricultural sciences, with a minor in animal sciences.

Hometown: Frederick, Oklahoma My dairy background: My two younger sisters and I are third generation from both sides of the family and the second generation in the U.S. Our family currently milks 4,000 cows on two facilities. Year in school and area of study: I am a junior at Oklahoma State University majoring in Animal Science with a business emphasis and a minor in agricultural economics. If I wasn’t studying agriculture/dairy, I would be ... working somewhere in the dairy industry, as that is where my passion has always been in life.