In this episode of the Uplevel Dairy podcast, host Peggy Coffeen sits down with Lexie Nunes, a dynamic young professional in the dairy industry, for the Young Leaders series. Lexie shares her journey from her beginnings on a family dairy farm in Central California to her role as a Customer Support Specialist at Milc Group. Lexie’s story began as a reluctant participant in dairy judging, pushed by her mother, which eventually led to her becoming an All-American dairy judge at World Dairy Expo....

We catch up with Young Leader Brianna Meyer at Siemers Holsteins in Newton, Wis., just days after completing her summer internship at this newly built facility. Find out how she expanded her skills from the 130-cow robot dairy she grew up on in Chilton, Wis., to integrating with a high-performing team on a 5,500-cow dairy, and how these experiences have prompted this aspiring large animal veterinarian to head into her sophomore year at the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a burning...

Back in Ep. 123 of the Uplevel Dairy Podcast, we visited with California dairyman Steve Shehadey, as he shared the innovations in renewable energy and sustainability that have earned Bar 20 Dairy in the San Joaquin Valley the 2023 Innovative Dairy Farmer of the Year award and positioned this family business for the future.  Well, today, we are going to meet the future of Bar 20: Steve’s daughter, Bonney - who represents the fourth generation of this family business, and who plans to make her...

Meet Young Leader Ytsje Andringa, a driven woman whose path seems to always lead her back to the driver’s seat of a silage truck.Ytsje shares how she shifted her career course from health care to follow her heart back to her family dairy farm, Sunrise Dairy in Clear Lake, South Dakota.She’s the daughter of Dutch immigrants, oldest of 6 and a mother to 3.This Young Leader will blow you away with her determination to do hard things and go after her dairy farming dreams every single day.In this...

Meet the 28-year-old from Belgium who has embarked on a hands-on dairy farming journey around the globe. Laurens Rutten challenged himself to dive into dairy on three continents, starting on a commercial grass-based dairy in New Zealand, then the world’s largest robotic dairy in Chile, and we catch up with him today on the third leg of his journey at Sunnyside Farms in New York.  Laurens reveals the two critical questions he asked himself that spurred this adventure, and the lessons he is...

On this Uplevel Dairy Young Leaders Podcast, I’m turning the mic over to a trio of up-and-comers in dairy industry communications to interview three Dairy Challenge alumni who shared their experiences on a panel at the Midwest Dairy Challenge held in Green Bay, Wis., in February. Social media interns interview Dairy Challenge alumni: Nichole Gerard, Iowa State University student, interviews Crystal Prom, Cargill Torri Burch, Iowa State University student,  interviews Tony Schmitz,...

She manages 15 employees, 1,200 baby calves and 700 maternity cows … and she’s just 24 years old. Our Uplevel Dairy Young Leader today is Madison Busse, Calf and Maternity Manager for Minnesota-based United Dairies.  The Ohio native didn’t grow up on a dairy but learned to love it, and while her path was originally to become a large animal veterinarian, an internship with a calf raiser prompted a change of heart and change of direction that led her to Alexandria, Minnesota, to a position...

And our featured Young Leader today is Emily Shaw Schaapmann, also known as the Dairy Girl Fitness, shares the career journey that led her to starting her own business.  Describing her initial struggles finding her place in the dairy industry and experiencing career frustration, Emily discusses how she channeled her passions for health, fitness, and dairy promotion into establishing Dairy Girl Fitness. Five years later, this business has helped more than 500 women reach their health goals...

If you are passionate about sharing dairy’s story with consumers and want to know how to turn that into a career, keep listening to hear how Allison Ryan has done just that. As the marketing and communications director for MVP Dairy and McCarty Family Farms, she has brought the vision to life for an on-farm dairy learning center in Salina, Ohio, and will soon be cutting the ribbon on a second, interactive learning center near Rexford, Kansas.  And she’s joining us today to talk about the...

And our featured Young Leader today is as dedicated to dairy as they come, Alex Gambonini. Raised on an organic California dairy farm, Alex not only grew up showing cattle and competing in dairy quiz bowl, but she also loved digging into numbers and economics. Today, her passions combined, she is the senior manager of advisory services for HighGround Dairy. Hear how Alex: Dives into the complexities of dairy economics and milk pricing Her very powerful and personal “why” for helping...

Our featured Uplevel Dairy Young Leader is Taylor Zeltwanger. He joins us from Morris, Minnesota, where he resides with his wife. This 2020 South Dakota State University graduate started working for his uncle’s company, NutraDrip, while in college, and 5 years later, has channeled his massive energy and passion into a career helping farmers capture the value of precision ag and sustainable farming practices. You will hear how Taylor is: Finding big opportunities by working for a young...

Our featured Uplevel Dairy Young Leader today is Michael Neves. He joins us from California, though he has a network in the dairy community that reaches around the world. The first few years of Michael’s career included working with startups in technology and animal health, before finding a great fit for his skillset as business development manager for Progressive Dairy Solutions. Hear about: How his entrepreneurial spirit almost led him to owning a McDonald's franchise at age 19 His...

The Uplevel Dairy Podcast is expanding to include a second bi-weekly podcast, the Uplevel Dairy Young Leaders Podcast! This is for producers and professionals in the first 5 years of their dairy careers. You can find new episodes dropping every other Thursday on Uplevel Dairy, or follow the Uplevel Dairy Young Leaders Podcast on your favorite platform. We're kicking off this very first episode with Young Leader Kiley Pagel. Kiley is just wrapping up her degree in business management with an...

Welcome to the Uplevel Dairy Young Leaders Podcast! This Podcast is for producers and professionals in the first 5 years of their dairy careers. Host Peggy Coffeen connects you with others who are like you - driven to make a difference and determined to do it in the dairy industry.  Whether you are on the farm or in the field, this is the place to plug in to hear how your peers are overcoming challenges and stepping up to lead the way as dairy’s future decision makers and innovators.