One blizzardy night nearly two decades ago left sixth-generation dairy farmer Sara Bremer Hewitt stranded in town. Seventeen years later, that spontaneous shopping trip has grown from a small yard display into a magical half-mile drive-through Christmas experience at Bremer Farms in Hastings, Minnesota.

The U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center in Madison, Wisconsin, is one of 90 locations of the USDA Agricultural Research Service.

From Wisconsin to Switzerland, Australia and beyond, Dan Wegmueller has built a life and a dairy farm around more than just cows and milk. With a global perspective and deep family roots, Wegmueller is reshaping what it means to be a dairy farmer in the 21st century.

Recently, I attended the 20th International Silage Conference in Gainesville, Florida – an event that brought together more than 330 leaders in silage research, innovation and sustainable agriculture from 37 countries.

Charles Goodnight came to Texas as a young boy and immediately started working with livestock. As a young man, he established the Goodnight-Loving Trail with his friend Oliver Loving. Together, they moved cattle from Texas to Pueblo, Colorado.

In an era where consumers are increasingly interested in where their food comes from, it is more important than ever for the agriculture community to maintain strong connections across the supply chain. The Animal Agriculture Alliance continues to lead the charge in fostering these relationships by hosting virtual events such as webinars. Due to popular demand, the Alliance also hosted a restaurant and retail farm tour last fall for the first time in several years.

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.

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!