Until a few years ago, milk testing at Consolidated Lab Services LLC was done by pipette with glass petri dishes and bottles. Samples were analyzed and recorded manually. Results took time, and tracking down individual farm results meant sorting through paperwork.

At nearly 7 million pounds of milk per month, Loudon County is the largest dairy-producing county in Tennessee. Neighboring Greene County has the largest number of individual dairy herds, producing one-third that amount of milk, according to Julie Walker of Agri-Voice, Knoxville.

How do 6,000 cows beat the heat during Florida’s dog days of summer? “We live and die by our fans and sprinklers and making sure they are operating correctly,” says Jan Henderson, who left the financial industry to become chief financial officer and the next generation working into the partnership with her father, Ron St. John, at Alliance Dairies in Trenton, Florida.