The Dairy Girl Network (DGN) celebrated its 10th anniversary at its biennial Forward TogetHER national conference, Nov. 5-7, in Kansas City, Missouri. Dairywomen, and a few men, from across the industry gathered to connect, inspire and achieve through networking, interactive sessions and thought-provoking presentations.

Following pre-conference sessions on collaboration in the industry and calf care, and a welcome networking night, the conference kicked off with keynote speaker Jackie Klippenstein, senior vice president, chief government and industry relations officer, Dairy Farmers of America.

Klippenstein took the audience on her unlikely journey from a girl in Long Island to a leader in a global dairy company. “It doesn’t matter where you come from. Are you good at your job?” she posed.

She has an internal drive to be influential and a willingness to go off course when necessary. Klippenstein said she hires people she wants to be around who are willing to participate.

At the end of her presentation, Klippenstein provided these words of advice: Be good at your job. Be prepared. Be helpful. Ask questions for clarity. Ask questions for strategy. Grow your pool of advocates.

Throughout the day, sessions were held on transporting calves, leveraging technology, management skills, developing a veterinary client-patient relationship, dairy policy, safety, and dairy cow nutrition and longevity.

At the evening dinner, three retiring DGN board members were recognized. They were: Kristy Pagel, industry representative from Malone, Wisconsin; Carrie Mess, dairy producer from Johnson Creek, Wisconsin; and Laura Daniels, founder and president from Cobb, Wisconsin.

Then, Kansas rancher Brandi Buzzard took the stage to share how she stands up for agriculture. She is the owner of High Bar Cattle Company, where they sell purebred bulls and heifers, run grass cattle and sell freezer beef.

In selling direct, she saw firsthand the disconnect between farmers and consumers.

“We absolutely need to be advocates,” she said.

Buzzard also noted her personal motivation, saying, “Selfishly, I stand up for my livelihood. If I want my daughters to come back to my ranch, I need a ranch for them to come back to.”

Buzzard started advocating for agriculture in 2009. She developed a set of answers to common questions that she could cut and paste on social media. She also started a blog, “Buzzard’s Beat.”

She learned a lot along the way and now focuses on the goals of establishing trust and dispelling fear in food.

Buzzard’s forte is writing open letters about issues related to farming and ranching. This led her to appear on national news networks and an invitation to the White House to talk with senior officials about cattle ranching.

Her advice is to be open-minded and authentic.

“You don’t have to do advocacy my way,” Buzzard said. Other options are to talk to people one on one in the grocery store, take a calf to a petting zoo, go on influencer tours hosted by checkoff organizations, call your government representative and tell them how things are affecting you.

Day two started with a session on women’s wellness and how dairy products play a key role in supporting digestion, heart health, body composition and brain and bone strength.

On the main stage, Marilyn Hershey, dairy farmer and chair at Dairy Management Inc. (DMI), and Barbara O’Brien, president and CEO at Dairy Management Inc. and president and CEO at Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, stepped up to share the ups, the downs, the challenges and the triumphs they faced in their careers. Their presentation, “They tell the story of dairy: What’s their story,” was moderated by farm broadcaster and podcast host Joanna Guza.

When O’Brien started at DMI as a consultant 20 years ago, it was still very much a male-dominated industry, but through hers and Hershey’s leadership over the past several years at DMI, that has changed. However, despite their achievements, their advice to those entering the dairy industry now focuses far more on authenticity and personal growth than it does on career growth.

Hershey encouraged women to look for opportunities and to have courage and to not talk yourself out of it. O’Brien then added that dairywomen should remember three things as they go through their career: Remember who you are, be where you are and to be you, be authentic.

To close out the event, Laura Daniels, founder and president of DGN, owner of Heartwood Farm and coach for Hitch Pin Consulting, reflected on critical moments in her career and the honor of leading DGN for the past decade.

She challenged the audience to think about what drives them and then follow three principles – start, lead and elevate.

“You just need to get started,” she said. There can be messy first steps and it’s going to get hard, but keep showing up. Be mindful of burnout and imposter syndrome and don’t let them hold you back.

In leadership, Daniels said, “There is a difference between power and agency. Even if you don’t have the power, you always have agency.”

Leaders not only handle tasks and strategy well, but they also take care of themselves to refill their own personal buckets.

To elevate, Daniels said to start by elevating those around you so you can replace yourself. Free up your time and mental space by getting rid of sacred cows, and surround yourself with true believers.

“You have the power to create the life you can’t stop thinking about and the one you haven’t dreamed of yet,” Daniels concluded.

DGN Awards

Forward Under 40

This award honors dairywomen, all under the age of 40, who exemplify passionate involvement and leadership to move the dairy industry forward.

2024 recipients:

• Renee Norman-Kenny, owner, Kenny Jersey Farm LLC, and operations officer, DGN, Pennsylvania
• Kimberly Tarvis, associate professor of the animal sciences, State University of New York at Cobleskill Ag & Tech, New York
• Andrea Mouw, owner and founder, Dairywise Laboratory Services LLC, Idaho
• Dr. Michelle Schack, partner, Dairy Veterinary Service Clinic, Arizona

Leading Impact Award

The Leading Impact honoree exemplifies passionate involvement and leadership achievements that have impacted the dairy industry. They are a leader within the agricultural industry, their communities and paved the way for youth and/or young adults.

2024 recipient:

• Jackie Klippenstein, senior vice president, chief government and industry relations officer, Dairy Farmers of America

Special note: These awards are only presented every two years in conjunction with DGN’s Forward TogetHER National Conference.