The Schlangen Family
Hometown: Albany, Minnesota
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.