Capstone Farms is a fourth-generation dairy farm and member-owner of Dairy Farmers of America. Lindsay Mitchell currently milks 215 registered Holsteins with her father, Bob Steinberger Jr. The dairy is in Windthorst, Texas, a small dairy community just northwest of Dallas-Ft. Worth. Lindsay’s husband James takes care of the crop work, and farms on his own. They also have a cow/calf operation. They have two children, Jack, 3, and Baylor, 1.

Corey and Kaitlyn Miller are members of the 2018 YC Advisory Council, representing Upstate Niagara Cooperative. They farm in Erie County, New York, about 20 minutes from Buffalo. In partnership with Richard and Lucille Janiga, the Millers milk 400 Holstein cows three times a day thanks to several employees. Corey and his wife started dairy farming in May 2013 with just 120 cows on a rented facility. They are now in their fourth year of farming alongside the Janigas. They hope to buy out the partnership over time and become a more efficient operation.

Alex Ode is a farmer-member of Land O’ Lakes, Inc., and member of the 2018 YC Advisory Council. As a fifth-generation dairy farmer, he operates Royalwood Farms – located east of Sioux Falls, South Dakota – alongside his father, uncle and grandfather. They currently milk 340 Holstein cows in a double-eight parallel parlor three times a day, and house them in a six-row, sand-bedded free-stall barn. They also farm 800 acres of corn and alfalfa.

Alex has been married to wife Alicia for almost five years, and they currently have a 15-month old daughter named Ava. Alicia is a registered nurse at Vance Thompson Vision.

Will and Lauren Butler are members of the 2018 YC Advisory Council, representing Southeast Milk, Inc. The Butler family has been farming for more than 80 years. Today, their operation is situated in Highlands County, Florida, directly on the Kissimmee River. While Will’s parents own Butler Oaks Farm, he has served as manager alongside older brother Ben for the past 10 years. They manage the 1,100 cow milking herd, which is housed in a free-stall management system. Butler Oaks milks mainly Holstein cows, with a few Brown Swiss and Jersey-Crosses. The farm has undertaken several environmental projects to control the phosphorus and other nutrients. Today, all the water on the farm is collected and treated or reused.

Will and his wife Lauren have been married eight years and have a daughter named Claire, 2. Lauren is the Okeechobee County UF/IFAS Extension Director and Livestock Agent.

Jennifer and Justin Malott are the 2018 Young Cooperator Chaircouple and members of Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative Association. They own and operate Misty Meadow Farms, where they milk 150 Holstein cows.

Josh and Emily Reinhardt are the 2017 Young Cooperator Vice Chaircouple and members of Prairie Farms Dairy. Josh’s grandparents started the farm in 1954 after receiving a dozen chickens and two mules as a wedding gift. Today, the farm is located outside of Red Bud, Ill., where the Reinhardts milk 240 Holsteins and farm about 1,000 acres. In March 2016, they moved into a new barn equipped with DeLaval robots. They’re currently focusing on genetics, and strive to produce heifers that mature into robot-compatible cows with high yields.

Shelby Knevelbaard is a member of the 2017 Young Cooperator Advisory Council. She and her husband Matthew farm in Tulare, Calif., for which she was elected district chairman through Dairy Farmers of America. They currently milk 600 Holsteins and have 50 acres of farm land for growing corn and wheat silage. The couple started the business in 2011, following Matthew’s family legacy of being in the dairy business for many generations. Matthew’s family came here from Holland, with Matthew being the fourth-generation to work in dairy. Shelby married into the family having come from a different background, one rooted in ministry and factory work.

Karl Wedemeyer is a member of the 2017 Young Cooperator Advisory Council. He and his family are members of Dairy Farmers of America and own White Diamond Farm in LaRue, Ohio. They currently milk about 170 jersey cows, raise about 140 heifers and farm about 80 acres.

Brooks and Katie Long are the 2017 Young Cooperator Vice Chaircouple and members of Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative Association. They operate Long DeLite Farm in Williamsport, Md. The farm is a seventh-generation operation that has been in the family and at the same location since 1831. They milk about 60 cows – crossbred cattle, plus some registered Jerseys and Milking Shorthorns – on a rotational grazing operation, where the cows consume a majority of their forage from grass on paddocks on which they are moved around daily.

Rachel Schroeder is a member of Foremost Farms USA and co-owner of Simply Crazy Farms LLC of Watertown, Wisc., alongside her father, James McManama. James took over the family dairy farm after his father passed away in 1980. Over the past 37 years, the farm has grown from milking 25 cows and farming 80 acres, to milking 90 Holstein cows and farming 500 acres of corn, soybeans, wheat and alfalfa. After earning her bachelor’s degree in animal science and working off the farm for a few years, Rachel joined her father full time in 2013. They raise all their own young stock and feed. They have a few part-time employees to help with the three-times-per-day milkings. Rachel’s husband Jesse works off the farm as a diesel technician, but he helps on the farm every weekend and during the planting/harvest seasons.

Melissa is a fifth-generation dairy farmer on Clessons River Farm in Buckland, Mass. She is a member of Agri-Mark Family Dairy Farms, and she and her husband Adam are the 2017 Young Cooperator Chaircouple. Melissa has been working full time managing the farm since 2005 alongside with her father, Paul Willis. Together, they care for 125 animals, including 60 cows, while growing their own hay and corn for feed. The herd comprises mainly registered Holsteins (including a few Red Holsteins) and a few Brown Swiss.

Craig Edler currently sits on the NMPF Board of Directors and is a long-time member of Dairy Farmers of America. He and his wife Katharine operate Cam Cal Kar Dairy Farms, located near Browntown, Wisc. The farm is home to 700 registered Holstein cows, and grows corn and alfalfa on 1,700 acres. In addition to the dairy operation, Craig and Katharine are partners in a custom heifer raising business and milling business, as well as own a custom harvesting and manure pumping businesses.