I’ve been an editor with Progressive Dairyman magazine for two years now. While most of my work has been online, managing the content on our website and in our Extra e-newsletter, I have contributed several articles to the print publication. This, however, is my first editorial piece. Ever.

Gwin emily
Emily Caldwell Gwin
Former Editor / Progressive Dairy

Luckily for me, this is a great issue for me to get my feet wet. Our Women in Dairy issue each year always features the most inspiring, forward-thinking female leaders of the industry today.

The dairywoman featured on our cover, Leontien VandeLaar, is a great example. She moved from Holland to the U.S. to pursue her “American dream” of dairying. Just a few short months after milking cows on her U.S. operation for the first time, she was diagnosed with a life-threatening disease.

She talked openly with me about her battle with skin cancer. Her life on the dairy with her family, she says, is one of the only things that keeps her sane. That and the support of a growing online network of farmwomen. Click here to get inspired by Leontien’s story.

Another dairywoman featured in this issue is Dawn Noble of Burlington, Wisconsin. She took advantage of an opportunity to further her education and be an even more valuable asset to her husband and their dairy farm.

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She gained new skills and knowledge through a program called Annie’s Project , which provides female farmers and ranchers with management-level training. Click here to learn more about the program and Noble.

We also reached out to members of the dairy blogging community and those following our Facebook page ( www.facebook.com/progressivedairyman ) to find out which women in the dairy industry inspire them. Responses poured in, praising mothers, mentors, co-workers, educators and friends. Click here to read those stories.

There are so many wonderful examples of women who have gone above and beyond to promote the dairy industry, support their families, educate youth about industry opportunities and, in many cases, all three and then some.

One woman in particular mentioned is Carrie Mess from Jefferson County, Wisconsin. She provided information for our Progressive Forage Grower magazine about a hay drive she started.

With the help of the company where she serves as marketing director, Waupun Equipment, Mess has been able to organize 10 loads of donated hay to help more than 40 drought-stricken operations in Oklahoma and Texas.

It amazes me that she just felt she could somehow help those producers, and so she figured out a way to do it. Click here to read the full story.

These few features represent the many dairywomen today who are known for their strength, perseverance and leadership. They’re the women who are not only making a difference in the lives of those around them, but they’re also positively impacting the present and shaping the future of the dairy industry. PD