Beckstead Jersey Farm: All in the family
Clifton, Idaho — Four brothers and their father, Marcel Beckstead, moved their Jersey cows to Idaho nearly 40 years ago from the Salt Lake valley, where their father had a dairy.“He grew up on the...
View ArticleSeattle cheese-makers grow business in public
SEATTLE — In the early 2000s, Kurt Beecher Dammeier was looking for a business with permanence. After much deliberation, he chose to make cheese.“We wanted a business that would be around for the next...
View ArticleDairy Commission hires new communications director
PORTLAND — Some might call it a trial by fire. Josh Thomas considered it a stroke of good fortune when his first day on the job as senior director of communications for the Oregon Dairy Products...
View ArticleFifth-generation dairy family continues to thrive
St. Paul, Ore. — Milking 350 cows for the organic market takes up every bit of the 165 acres of lush grass pastures at Steve and Susan Pierson’s Sar-Ben Farms, near St. Paul, Ore.Steve Pierson began...
View ArticleDairies, breweries make unusual partners
Where would breweries be without dairies? It might not be apparent at first glance, but some breweries wouldn’t have gotten far without help from the diary industry.For example, you might step into a...
View ArticleDairy owner holds onto her dreams
Yachats, Ore. — Deb Hodel-Ostling was 5 years old when her Grandpa Joe sold his Frances, Wash., dairy, but she was old enough to know what she wanted.“I begged my dad to buy it,” she said. He didn’t,...
View Article132-year-old dairy follows a unique strategy
Trout Lake, Wash. — Jesse Pearson of Mountain Laurel Jerseys has been able to revive his family’s dairy by taking it in an unusual direction.His great-grandfather established the dairy in 1883 and...
View ArticleSmall Idaho dairy has lots of room to grow
Rupert, Idaho — Six years ago, Don and Renae Halverson began marketing their own brand of bottled organic milk, which they delivered to the Sun Valley area.Last fall, they started selling milk to...
View ArticleCheese-makers seek to grow with community
TROUT LAKE, Wash. — John and Marci Shuman left Portland for a small Washington town in the shadow of Mount Adams where they could get involved in the dairy business.From that desire grew Cascadia...
View ArticleDrought, immigration reform top issues for dairy
PETALUMA, Calif. — Dairyman Lucas Deniz said the best decision he made was converting from conventional to organic milk production.“In fact, there is a shortage of organic milk and stores are running...
View ArticleService company helps keep the milk flowing
IDAHO FALLS — Behind every good dairy there’s a dairy supply service.Robert Taylor, general manager at the Idaho Falls branch of Mountain West Dairy Services, says his company covers a lot of turf,...
View ArticleDairy family runs Tillamook farm
TILLAMOOK, Ore. — Daryl Fletcher is a fifth-generation dairyman who came into the world one month to the day after his parents bought Mistvale Farm in December of 1971.So he can be forgiven if he...
View ArticleDairy association official sees challenges ahead
California’s dairy industry — the largest in the nation — is brimming with vitality and promise, but Western United Dairymen CEO Paul Martin says big challenges also lie ahead. “In 2014 the over base...
View ArticleOregon Dairy Women dedicated to promoting industry
The longest line for ice cream at the Oregon State Fair each year leads to the Red Barn and a princess.Volunteers there serve shakes, cones and sundaes and the proceeds go to the Oregon Dairy Women....
View ArticleDairy industry takes its case to the Capitol
SALEM — Dairy industry representatives were hopeful that servings of Oregon dairy products at the April Dairy Day at the Capitol event would help sway lawmakers to vote ag’s way on bills working their...
View ArticleGrants help dairy address runoff, other issues
BROWNSMEAD, Ore. — Some dairy owners take to heart the bumper sticker adage: “Every day is Earth Day for farmers.”Dirk Rohne, Clatsop County commissioner and dairy farmer, is one of those. His family’s...
View ArticleRegional dairy co-op preserves rich history
Darigold is a farmer-owned dairy co-op with a long history of growth across the Northwest.The fifth-largest dairy co-op in the United States, Darigold produces consumer and export products. Whey...
View ArticleFun facts and trivia about dairy
• The average cow produces enough milk each day to fill six one-gallon jugs, about 55 pounds of milk.• It takes more than 21 pounds of whole milk to make 1 pound of butter.• The fastest-growing variety...
View ArticleFarmers looks to organic for higher prices
During the last 18 months, commodity milk prices have dropped almost 45 percent.Today, conventional milk prices are nearly on par with prices from the 1990s. That volatility has forced dairy farmers to...
View ArticleFarmers get a hand from robotic parlor
Vale is about as far from the misty pastures of the Oregon Coast as a town can get. Just 12 miles from the Idaho border, Vale, Ore., is in the midst of the high desert: big blue skies, an open...
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