Chad Voelker is a farmer-member of Prairie Farms, and member of the 2020 YC Advisory Council. Together with his brothers and mother, he operates Voelker Swiss Farm LLC in Perryville, Missouri. The farm currently milks 190 registered Brown Swiss and farms 450 acres.

James Weber reopened his family’s farm, Weber Family Dairy, in 2015 where he currently milks 120 cows and farms 800 acres. He is a member of Michigan Milk Producers Association and will serve as Chair of the National Young Cooperators Program in 2020.

Leon, his wife, Linda and their daughter, Abbie, farm in the foothills of the Green Mountains in Whitingham, Vermont on land that has been in the family since 1868. The Corse family operates a 60-cow organic dairy and are AgriMark co-op members. Leon’s favorite thing about being a dairy farmer is milking the cows in the early morning. “It is just me and the cows,” he says. “There is no one else around and whatever challenges the day may bring have not surfaced yet.”

Corse Family Farm recently celebrated their 150-year anniversary with an open house, hosting over 350 people for hay rides, farm tours, ice cream and more!

Clint and Brooke Gladden, along with Clint’s older brother Josh Gladden and wife Heidi, are a 4^th generation Arizona dairy farm located in Palo Verde, AZ, about 50 minutes west of Phoenix. They work with his father and mother, Dan and Sheri Gladden. Clint’s grandfather “retired” a few years ago. They milk 4,000 cows in two facilities and farm 2,500 acres feeding in to the dairy. Their current main facility, built in 1998, milks 3,000 cows in a 36×36 parallel parlor with a mixed herd of Holsteins, Jerseys, and Hojo crosses. Their other facility milks 1,000 cows in a 18×18 parallel parlor with a mixed herd also. They milk 2x daily, and are members of United Dairymen of Arizona.

Bob and Carrie DiCarlo reside in Canandaigua, New York, with their 2 children:  Nora and Ian.  Bob is a non-family partner with John Knopf at Fa-Ba Farm.  They milk 500 Holsteins and raise 390 heifers.  The farm grows its own forages and purchases its grain.   They are members of Upstate Niagara Cooperative.

Jared & Marla Kurtz have three children: Jase (5), Selah (3) and Weston (1). They farm with Jared’s parents, Tim and Deborah Kurtz, in Elverson, Pennsylvania, 40 miles northwest of Philadelphia, and are members of Land O Lakes. The Kurtz’s milk 300 Holsteins in two different barns. 60 cows are milked in a tie stall barn and 220 cows are milked by 4 Lely A4 Robots in a newer freestall barn. They raise all of thier own replacement heifers and grow most of their own forages, double cropping with corn and small grains, using 100% no-till.

Courtney and her husband Dustin are part of the 2019 YC Advisory Council and members of Southeast Milk. They farm in central Florida, approximately 80 miles south of Disney World. They milk a total of 2,000 Holstein cows twice a day at three farms, all located in Hardee County: 1,200 cows at Zolfo Springs Dairy, 350 at Wauchula Dairy, and 450 cows at Lemon Grove Dairy. The three sites use rotational grazing, which helps manage costs. It also allows for a more simplistic management style that permits them to focus on what matters most: their cows and making milk.

Taryn Martin is the 2019 YC Secretary and member of Tillamook County Creamery Association. She works on her family’s farm, which started all the way back in 1906. Currently, they milk around 950 cows – all registered jerseys – using a carousel that milks 32 cows at a five-minute rotation. The farm is located on the Oregon coast in Tillamook County. The Pacific Ocean is only 15 minutes away from the farm.

Brian and Rachel Detwiler are the 2019 YC Vice Chaircouple and members of Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative Association. They are the fourth generation to operate Maple Kroft Farm is in Sinking Valley, Pennsylvania. They currently farm 285 acres, milk 180 cows (mostly Holsteins), have 180 replacements, and milk three times a day in an 8-stall, step-up parlor. The cows are housed in sand-bedded free stalls. They are raising four boys: A.J. (14), Aiden (11), Andrew (9) and Abram (6).

Paul and Nancy Pyle are the 2019 YC Chaircouple and are members of the Michigan Milk Producers Association. They farm on a sixth-generation dairy (170 years) in Zeeland, Michigan. They milk around 140 registered Holsteins in a double-8 parallel parlor, housed in sand-bedded freestalls. They also farm 265 acres of corn, hay, wheat and soybeans. Paul and Nancy have been married for 14 years and have five children: Emily (11), Andrew (10), Megan (8), Chelsea (6), and James (5). Nancy is the preschool director at Zeeland Christian School.

Jonathan Vander Dussen is a farmer member of Select Milk Producers and current NMPF board member. He lends a hand on his family’s three different farm operations, which are located in Clovis, New Mexico, and milk a total of 10,000 Holsteins. The work is divided up within the family: Jonathan, his parents Randy and Jenise, and his brothers: Sybrand, Daniel, Bryan and Cody.

Daniel Perazzo, member-owner of Dairy Farmers of America (DFA), farms as part of Perazzo Brothers Dairy in Fallon, Nevada, which has been in operation since 1941. Daniel’s great grandparents started with just six milking shorthorns. Today, he is the fourth generation, milking 1,100 Holsteins.  Thanks to a DFA powder plant built in Fallon four years ago, Daniel and his family were able to build a new milking parlor that was finished shortly after the plant began operating.