Dairy panel discusses the next decade at Dairy Strong

By Mary Hookham

Opportunities and challenges abound for dairy farmers over the next ten years. Three dairy farmers from around the Midwest shared their insights into these opportunities and challenges during a producer panel at Dairy Strong 2023.

Brian Houin of Homestead Dairy in Plymouth, Ind., said 2022 was a great year for his farm largely due to excellent herd health and high milk prices. He and his family have 36 Lely robots under one barn roof.

Christina Zuiderveen of Iowa is a managing partner of three family dairy farms in Iowa and South Dakota. She noted that last year was disastrous for her family primarily because of the drought. Nearly three months with little-to-no rain ruined crops and left farmers with minimal forage options.

Supply chain challenges negatively affected farming for Lee Kinnard of Kinnard Farms near Green Bay, Wisconsin. Being required to plan ahead for farm-related products sometimes one to two years in advance creates its own set of challenges, he said. 

Moderator Spencer Chase of Agri-Pulse asked what information would increase the farmers’ chance of success in the next ten years. 

“I would like a crystal ball telling me what the consumer wants,” Kinnard said.

Zuirdeveen said she would like to know about long-term processor plans and environmental regulations that may be coming soon.

Houin noted the desire to learn more about markets, infrastructure, supply chains and inflation.

Ideas for the future were another topic of discussion during the panel. Houin would like to add another digester to his farm as he knows it will help him move closer to carbon neutrality. Zuirdeveen wants to look at her family’s land base and consider how they will deal with manure in the future.

“I’m hopeful that the regulations that will come won’t be as strict as some of the ones in Europe,” she said. “And I’d really prefer to work with the regulators so they understand what farmers need.”

Kinnard noted the need for a sophisticated labor force to work with technology as an excellent opportunity for the future. He said the traditionally manual tasks of his grandparent’s time would be put aside in favor of technological advances on the farm that would do many of the mundane tasks for farmers.

“There are many challenges facing us in the next ten years and beyond,” Kinnard said. “But there are also lots of opportunities.”

Zuirdeveen said the export market is an opportunity for farmers in the next ten years. She hopes to see more American dairy products in Europe.

“When consumers can afford to put dairy in their carts at the grocery store, they don’t want to take it out again. Ever.”

Manure digester technology and artificial intelligence are two opportunities Houin sees in his dairy farming future. He said that managing all the artificial intelligence data in one place would be even better.

“I really hadn’t fathomed the power of artificial intelligence,” he said. “It might provide better decisions for your cows than you would have come up with yourself.”

Although farming will always involve risk, the panelists mentioned a few ways they intend to manage it. Owning instead of renting farmland may help farmers control some risk, Houin said. Zuirdeveen feels using a good market analyst is crucial for risk management, while Kinnard simply said to diversify and take advantage of vertical integration whenever possible. 

The full panel discussion can be found on YouTube at www.youtube.com/dairystrong.