From the Editor

My dad is the most selfless and caring person I know. I think he’s so good at it because he practices those traits day in and day out with his cows. Dairy farmers put their cows’ needs before themselves so much that they dedicate their lives to the sole purpose of their cows’ comfort and well-being.

Words. When spoken, they have power but, when written down, they can change the trajectory of one’s future. During a recent farm visit, a dairyman told me about the words he wrote down 20 years ago and how they guided the vision for where he is today.

Today we introduce a small change with a big meaning. We have removed “man” from our name plate in order for the second part of our name to be as open-minded as the first. With the removal of that three-letter word, our editors reaffirm their commitment to every dairy producer and all the industry professionals who support them.

One of the lingering side effects of growing up on a dairy farm is that I continue to wake up before 5 a.m. – despite being removed from the morning milking schedule for several decades.

Our cover photo features the adorable doppelgänger daughter of Editor Audrey Schmitz. When Audrey and I were planning the cover image for this year’s June Dairy Month issue, I knew I wanted to see yogurt as a key component. I Googled something along the lines of “first birthday photo shoot with yogurt.”

When you see and work with the same animals every day, it is natural to have some biases and de-sensitivity to things you see constantly or things that change slowly over time. “That is how she looks every day, so it must be normal.”