How can farms rise above financial risks and a volatile market to eventually move toward growth? Three dairy producers opened up about their journeys and offered honest insight during a recent panel discussion.

At Penn State Extension’s Women in Dairy Conference held on Nov. 19, Joanna Shipp, a seventh-generation dairy farmer from Virginia and chair of the National Dairy Promotion and Research Board, reflected on what the next 20 years of dairy could look like in the U.S.

La planification de la relève permet de prendre votre avenir en main et de contrôler la destinée de votre ferme. Personne n’aime penser à ce qui se passera lorsqu’on ne sera plus là. Toutefois, c’est une nécessité pour les fermes laitières familiales qui gèrent des entreprises multigénérationnelles.

From elementary and middle school to high school, college and beyond, the Dairy Excellence Foundation offers curriculum, interactive dairy education programs, scholarships and internships to students of all ages – all available at no cost thanks to our donors and partners. 

For these three Pennsylvania dairy producers, their stories are each very different but have one commonality: working full-time on their family’s dairy operation wasn’t always their dream.

Succession planning is about owning your future and controlling your farm’s destiny. In a recent panel discussion at the “Own Your Future Forum” hosted by the Professional Dairy Managers of Pennsylvania (PDMP) and Center for Dairy Excellence, five panelists from all sectors of the industry had a candid conversation about taking control of the future.