On Friday, Oct. 4, current Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack returned to World Dairy Expo to say he accepted that challenge to develop strategies that help small and midsized operations continue to be in business.

Dairyman Jesus Hurtado’s fate was intertwined with the late John Reitsma and his dairies for nearly three decades. Now Hurtado and John’s son Dirk Reitsma and their dairy futures are connected again through co-investment in a new milk plant in Burley, Idaho.

Identifying consumer trends and generating new, innovative dairy products to meet these demands provides opportunities for increased dairy consumption. Read all about these three new dairy products and how the ideas for them came about.

When Stephanie and Hayley Painter were growing up in rural Pennsylvania, they didn’t think they had a unique lifestyle. Born and raised on an organic dairy farm in Tioga County, the pair grew up milking cows, feeding calves, running barefoot, working alongside siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins, and enjoying the rolling hills of the Northeast. 

Nestled in the hills of northwestern Vermont just a few miles south of the Canadian border, Choiniere Family Farm carries on a legacy of learning, growing and trying new things.