Hildebrand Dairy has won Innovative Dairy Farmer of the Year from the International Dairy Foods Association.
Melissa Reed of Abilene is the operations manager.
“We were shocked — stunned,” she said, upon learning about the award. “But they said, ‘you know, it’s not because you’re doing one, big thing really well. You’re doing a lot of little things exceptionally well.’ And so it was a big honor. It was a big deal.”
Reed spoke about some of those little things that led to the local dairy achieving international recognition.
While many in the dairy business “live by the mantra ‘you go big, or go home,’” Reed said Hildebrand had found ways to keep their herd small while still keeping their farm in business.
“With our farm, we’ve kind of figured out a way to grow, expand without just adding more cows,” she said. “With the onsite processing facility, we are able to keep our farm going, keep our family viable, be sustainable for the future, but then also still do something a little different.”
The Hildebrand herd itself is also a little different, in a way that has made some people who can’t normally drink milk be able to drink Hildebrand milk.
“So it’s not just the onsite processing,” Reed said. “We’ve also been breeding our cows through A2 genetics and those A2 genetics provide a more easily-digestible milk. So, there’s a beta casein that’s found in the protein and research has shown that based on what type of beta casein — whether it’s A1 or A2 — moe people are responsive and (find milk) easier to digest on that A2. So we’ve actually already received emails from the customers saying, ‘hey, why can I drink your milk but I can’t drink other milk?’ And we really think it comes back to this A2 protein, which is pretty cool. So we’ve been using that breeding program.”
The dairy has also forged a relationship with Kansas State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine where the dairy partners with the school by providing internships and onsite research opportunities for students. This partnership has been in place for years, Reed said.
The dairy has also partnered with the USDA for a mosquito study to see how mosquitos might have an impact on dairy cows.
“We also work with the USDA,” she said. “Through the USDA, we’ve been doing a mosquito research project. So we know flies really affect cows in a big way —now we’re going to take that a step further and say, ‘what does the mosquito do?’ Using SCR tags, we’re monitoring ear twitches, tail switches, rumination and heat detection — all of that information from our heifers — to kind of see how is that mosquito affecting them?”
Reed believes this program in particular may have impressed the International Dairy Foods Association.
“We also get a little creative with our hiring,” she said. “I don’t typically hire just average milkers like I used to.”
Aside from creating internships for students from K-State, Reed makes a practice of hiring United States military veterans through a different internship program. The program for veterans allows participants to rack up hours that can go toward a VA loan.
Reed said the dairy tries to provide “an educational opportunity” for employees in this manner.
All of this culminated in the dairy receiving an award.
Late last month, Reed and her husband attended a conference held by the International Dairy Foods Association in California.
She does not take full credit for the accomplishment.
“It’s just a testament to my dad and my uncle — truly,” Reed said.
They have been farming for decades, she said.
“While I get to be the voice (of the dairy) and share our story, they’re the ones that, while I was in California having a great time were here breaking waters and checking heifers and still working seven days a week,” Reed said. “As I was giving my acceptance speech, I was telling (the audience), ‘by this time, my famers back home have already put in an eight-hour day.’”
Looking toward the future
In order to sustain the environment that helped the dairy receive this honor in the first place, Reed said she and her staff have a three-pronged plan in place.
“It’s taking care of our cows and doing right by them,” she said. “It’s taking care of our land and making sure we’re preserving it for the future. But then it’s also growing the business and making sure that the business is sustainable for the future, as well.”
In the future, Reed said the dairy plans to add a new product. She’s not ready to release the details of that product to the world just yet, but she said something new may be on the horizon.
“We’re also looking at potentially expanding our sizing options and providing a quart of our chocolate milk,” Reed said. “That’s one of our most popular products. And then on the farm side, we’re probably looking into robotic milkers.”
The farm has looked into robotic milkers for years, she said.
“I don’t know as they’d necessarily replace the labor we have here, but it would be a huge support to the team … Nobody would get fired if the robots were put in,” Reed said. “If they were to leave on their own accord, it’s possible that we wouldn’t replace some part-timers.”
However, this is a long time in the future — if it ever comes to fruition.
“It could be a year before we even have those robots,” Reed said. “Once we get the robots, then it will be another six months to a year transition before the labor would be really eliminated or alleviated. And even with that, we would still need a full-time person plus an additional part-time person to keep up with the daily chores. Because the cows still have to be tended to, we still have to maintain pens and feed calves and help with calving and there’s still plenty to do.”
Source: Abilene-RC