Indiana Dairy Producers E-Newsletter
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Our Vision: To Make Indiana the most desirable state in which to produce milk.
Mission Statement
To promote a profitable, positive, professional image of
dairy producers while providing educational opportunities
for the interchange of ideas and to speak as a proactive voice
for Indiana dairy producers.
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In This Issue
Welcome!
New Silver Sponsor - Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative
2021 Indiana Dairy Producer of the Year Award
2021 Indiana Young Dairy Producer of the Year Award
2021 Scholarship Recipient
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Greetings!
IDP’s key-note event, The Indiana Dairy Forum, concluded its two-day event on June 23rd. Once again, the conference was a huge success.
“Great representation of the whole industry”, “venue is fabulous, food is good, fellowship is great for the industry”, “outstanding…great forum”, “looking forward to the next forum…” these were just a few of the comments describing the event.
Despite changes caused by Covid, the event was very successful. The trade show was the largest since the Forum event began in 2017. In addition, registrations were quite strong.
The conference began with a presentation by Dr. Michael Dykes, the President and CEO of International Dairy Foods Association. He discussed dairy consumption trends and the challenges created by the Covid pandemic.
Two preconference presentations proceeded the eight breakout talks. A big “thank you” goes out to those who discussed very timely and useful topics.
Those in attendance also witnessed a great presentation by Dr. Frank Mitloener, an air quality researcher from UC-Davis. Do not pass up the opportunity to hear his positive message concerning dairy’s opportunity to be part of the solution to global climate change.
The conference concluded with a wonderful talk from Dr. Tom Thibodeau. He emphasized the importance of being present to our families and employees.
If demands kept you from attending the 2021 conference, be sure to come to the next Forum in February of 2023.
We want to thank everyone who attended this year’s Forum and all the sponsors who supported the event. It truly is the go-to dairy conference in Indiana!
Steve Obert
Executive Director
812-779-6775
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Calendar of Events
Upcoming 2021 Events
July
Board Meeting-TBD
September
September 22nd: Board Meeting
November
November 17th: Partners in Success Luncheon
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New IDP Silver Sponsor - Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative |
Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative provides dairy farmers throughout the Midwest with a powerful voice — the voice of milk — in Congress, with customers and within their communities. Edge, based in Green Bay, Wis., is one of the top cooperatives in the country based on milk volume. Learn more at voiceofmilk.com.
We are excited to team up with Indiana Dairy Producers to stay engaged with policy matters in Indiana and provide support on federal dairy policy. Through collaboration with other dairy groups, we are building a stronger voice for dairy.
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10 years of Service Award
Doug Leman, along with wife Margaret, receives an award for ten years of service as IDP Executive Director. Also pictured are IDP Board President Arie Jan de Jong and new Executive Director Steve Obert.
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6 Years of Service Award
Nathan Keuhnert, current IDP Vice President, receives an award for six years of service on the Board of Directors. Also pictured are IDP Board President Arie Jan de Jong and Executive Director Doug Leman.
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2021 Indiana Dairy Producer of the Year |
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Maurice Loehmer is the owner of LoehmerDairy, LLC located in Monterey, IN. He started the dairy in 1983 with 36 cows and a double 4 parlor. He has since grown the herd to 1800+ with a double 8 and a double 12 parlor. In the early 2000's Maurice was not only growing the herd, but also growing as a leader. Through many different professionals who visited the farm and through attending various trainings over the years, Maurice has adopted a growth mindset and inspires those in his circle of influence to have a posture towards doing what is right and always looking for ways to improve. The mission of LoehmerDairy, LLC is to have excellent cow care, high quality milk and to work as a team.
Maurice has two children, Adam and Ashley. Adam was a key member of the dairy in the early 2000’s and helped to start the second parlor. He now works off of the dairy, and owns his own trucking company. In 2016, after teaching High School Spanish for 6 years, Ashley, joined the dairy as the Herd Manager and HR Coordinator. The focus in the last few years has been improving SOP’s and protocols to keep looking at ways to be more efficient as well as ongoing employee training and education.
Maurice has 6 grandchildren that he enjoys spending time with. When he is not on the dairy or spending time with his grandchildren, you can usually find Maurice outdoors exploring all that Indiana has to offer whether hiking, biking or kayaking. His most recent accomplishment has been riding 100 miles in a day. This past year Maurice decided to run for County Commissioner of Pulaski County. He has enjoyed his new role in giving back to the community and helping to make a difference for the future of the county.
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2021 Indiana Young Dairy Producer of the Year |
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In 2001 the ‘de Groot’ family started building a new dairy farm in Andrews, IN. Johan moved as a 13-year-old boy from the Netherlands together with his parents and one of his four sisters to the United States in 2002. They started milking approx. 1200 cows in 2002.
After 8 years, his dad decided to step away from the farm in Indiana and he moved to Florida with his mom. Johan finished his Dairy tech program at Michigan State University and moved to Florida as well. After two years, it appeared that the deal to sell the farm in Indiana fell through so Johan decided to move back to Indiana to start all over again and take over the farm. There were no cows and the lagoons were full of manure. There was some feed left but other than that a lot of mess. He started back up with 50 cows, sold some feed for cash flow and got help from multiple people. After 2 years, he milked 900 cows and added on more cows over the years. Currently 1900 cows are being milked in a double 25 parallel-parlor three times a day in Andrews.
As of June 2nd 2021, half of the new robot facility is running. A total of 10 DeLaval v300 robots will be used by the end of the summer to milk approx. 650 cows in Keystone, IN.
Pumping manure, growing 600 acres of Alfalfa, 700 acres of triticale and 1600 acres of corn to feed the cows and raising the young stock is all done in house. Currently around 30 employees take care of all the daily work.
Johan got married to Dejanne in 2018 and got a Daughter Hannah in January 2020. They are expecting their 2nd child in July this year. They work together to run the farm with some help from Johan’s mom Wilhelmina. Johan’s dad passed away two years ago.
Johan is also active at Huntington County Farm Bureau as a board member, the church and on the Farm Credit Mid-America advocate council. He is always open for conversation about the farm and the dairy industry in general. He takes time to show people the farm and explain what it involves to run a dairy farm.
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2021 Scholarship Recipient |
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Clare Dirksen just finished her sophomore year at Purdue University where she is working on a double major in Food Science and Animal Science. She grew up and continues to work on the family grain, swine, heifer, and dairy farm. She also sees the importance of how food is processed and has managed the gardening and preserving of the food for her family for many years. Clare has worked on the family farm her entire life in whatever capacity her help was needed, until this summer where she has accepted an intern program with Cargill and is further expanding her livestock knowledge as she is working with the turkey industry in California, Missouri.
Clare is a member of Food Science Club, Catholic Students, and is an organist for her local church. She has many hopes and dreams to improve the food that people eat as well as what our livestock eat. Clare plans to eventually work with the food industry in improving the nutrition of food and feed by improving the processing.
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Diamond Sponsors
Click on any logo to reach the company's website
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Platinum Sponsors
Click on any logo to reach the company's website
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Gold Sponsors
Click on any logo to reach the company's website
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Silver Sponsors
Click on any logo to reach the company's website
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Individual membership in the Indiana Dairy Producers is $50. Encourage your dairy farming friends to join IDP! Also, any individual who is not a dairy producer but would still like to support IDP can join as an associate member. Download a membership/associate brochure here.
We appreciate our industry supporters. They make it possible for IDP to support the dairy industry in many ways. If your company is interested in finding ways to join IDP, download an information sheet here.
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Board of Directors
Executive Director
317-695-8228
Steve Obert
812-779-6775
Arie Jan de Jong, President
Nathan Kuehnert, Vice President
Emily Hoeing, Secretary
Jackie Boerman, Executive Treasurer
Board Members
Alex Lueken
Amy Weaver
Carrie Jo Bollenbacher
Greg Peters
Henk Sevenhuysen
Krent Frauhiger
Industry Advisers
Chris Moore
Sarah Wagler
Steve Howell
Todd Janzen, Attorney
Zach Allen
Tanya Westfall, Executive Assistant
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Visit Our Bronze Sponsors |
(Click the bronze button) |
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IDP Corporate Sponsors
There is a growing list of companies that recognize IDP's value to Indiana's dairy industry. Please visit our list of companies that have become Corporate Sponsors for only $100. If you know of a company that may have an interest in supporting IDP at some level, please download a brochure here.
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Contact Chris Moore
For free insurance consultation and quotes on your farm and agribusiness Insurance needs! IDP members receive an exclusive discount on SECURA Insurance.
Chris Moore
317-650-4519
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Indiana Dairy Producers
7826 S 550 E
Fort Branch, IN 47648
812-779-6775
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RESOURCE CENTER
-Click on each picture or logo to learn more-
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Indiana Grazing &
Forage
NRCS Website
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Check out the resources available to you on the
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