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.

Steve Schlangen is a member of the NMPF Board of Directors and chairman of Associated Milk Producers Inc. He and his wife Cheryl have four children: Krista, husband Andy and son Ethan; Jenna and fiancé Casey; and Matthew and Michael. They milk 65 Holsteins with a Lely robotic milker on their farm near Albany in central Minnesota. They raise all the feed for their cows and replacement heifers on their own 220 acres.

Steve started milking on his own in 1986 when he bought a herd of 28 cows, rented a vacant barn and bought all his feed. Steve and Cheryl were married in 1989, and they purchased the farm soon after. In 1992, they built a free stall barn and milking parlor, where they milked until adding a robotic milker in 2010.

Chris Kraft is a member of the NMPF Board of Directors, representing Dairy Farmers of America, Inc. Kraft Family Dairies, near Fort Morgan, Colorado, runs two operations. Badger Creek Farm is considered home, where the Kraft family milk 1,300 cows. Quail Ridge Dairy is 3 miles south, where they milk 4,300 cows, all Holstein. The Krafts also farm 850 irrigated acres of corn and alfalfa, which they feed to the cows as forage. Chris and Mary are the owners. They work with son Stratton and 75 employees whose main jobs are caring for the animals.

David Scheevel is the chairman of Foremost Farms USA and an NMPF board member. He and his wife Kathy milk 130 Holstein cows and farm 250 acres of alfalfa hay and corn near Preston, Minn. Kathy also works as a loan processor for a bank in Rochester, Minn. Daughter Emily, husband Eric and their children Kylie and Cael live in Chatfield, Minn. Son Andrew and wife Rachel live and work in the St. Paul area.

Ben and April Butler are the Secretary Couple for the 2017 Young Cooperator Advisory Council, as well as members of Southeast Milk Inc. The Butler family has been dairy farming for more than 80 years. Today, the operation exists in Highlands County, 70 miles south of Orlando and 70 miles from either coast, directly on the Kissimmee River. Ben’s parents, Robert and Pam, own Butler Oaks Farm. For the past 12 years, Ben has served as a manager alongside his younger brother Will. 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. Along with raising all replacement heifers on site; we grow all of our forage needs. The family also has a beef cow calf operation.

Butler Oaks has undertaken seven major environmental projects to control the phosphorus and other nutrients on their farm. Today, all the water on the farm is collected and treated or reused.

Derrick and Kaycee Josi are Young Cooperators and members of Tillamook County Creamery Association. Their farm, called Wilsonview Dairy, is located in Tillamook, Oregon, on the Wilson River. Derrick is a fourth-generation farmer and co-operates the dairy with his parents. They milk 500 registered jerseys on 400 acres.

Johan and Trisha Heijkoop, of Webster, Fla., belong to Southeast Milk, Inc., and were the Vice Chaircouple for the 2014 YC Advisory Council. They have four children – Jozef (15), Julia (13), Johanna (10) and JayLee (9) – along with business partners Gary and Kathy Keyes. They operate two farms in Florida: Milk-A-Way Dairy in Sumter County, Central Florida, and K & H Dairy in Lafayette County. Each farm has 12 employees, and combined milks about 1,600 head, mostly Holstein.

Sam Schwoeppe owns Schwoeppe Dairy LLC, a member of Prairie Farms cooperative, alongside her husband Darren and two sons Wyatt and Ethan in the southwest area of Indiana. They milk around 95 Holsteins with a few Brown Swiss cows. Sam is currently pursuing a master’s degree in organizational leadership and has a deep passion for agricultural sustainability. She was also a member of the 2014 NMPF Young Cooperator Advisory Council.

Nathan and Brenda Rudolph own a dairy farm in Central Minnesota, where they milk 100 Holsteins. For more than 125 years, someone in Nathan’s family has been milking cows on their farm, making Nathan a fifth-generation dairy farmer. Nathan and Brenda purchased the farm from Nathan’s parents in 2011, making them the sole owners. Their two children Everett, 7, and Vivian, 1, are with them every step of the way. Brenda shares her experiences on her blog, www.raisingafarmer.com.

Travis and Janet Clark co-own Vision Aire Farms, LLC, in Eldorado, Wisconsin. They are members of FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative and the 2016 NMPF Young Cooperator Advisory Council. The farm is also owned and operated by Roger and Sandy Grade, and David Grade. It consists of 155 registered Holsteins and operates 900 acres of land.