The operation has grown to 400 Holstein cows milked with six robotic milking systems, as well as a new retail store where they also sell local products from their community. The farm has a beef community-supported agriculture (CSA) program and also provides hay wagon tours and farm tours throughout the spring and summer and four weeks of Kids Farm Camp.

Heim’s Hillcrest Dairy in Wisconsin has created a welcoming team culture with low employee turnover. Since the farm started in 1963, it has grown from less than 100 cows to more than 800. Today, members of the second, third and fourth generations work on the dairy.

Jon and Julie Patterson are the sixth generation to own and operate Patterson Farms Inc. Their dairy farm is in the heart of the Finger Lakes in Cayuga County, New York where they milk 1,800 cows and crop over 3,000 acres.

Hard work, determination and perseverance aid four generations of dairy producers on Boertje Farms in Visalia, California.

Imagine this is the day you hop out of bed with a spring in your step, anticipating the life-changing transaction taking place this afternoon.

Some of the concerns heirs have in taking over the family farm include the financial viability of farming, the challenges of modern agriculture and lifestyle implications.

There are many overlapping systems in play on a family farm. Your family circle is your nuclear family which relates to your parents or in-laws, and your siblings, who may also be business partners or farm heirs.

It always seems like our stress gets amped up during the holidays – traveling, planning, spending money, seeing family and friends – it’s a lot to manage. We’re told this is a time to slow down, reflect and celebrate.