New Prague, MN (January 29, 2025) – The National Mastitis Council (NMC) honored six dairies with Platinum recognition via its National Dairy Quality Awards (NDQA) program. The Platinum Award winners are Cottonwood Dairy, South Wayne, Wis.; Country Aire Farms, Greenleaf, Wis.; Diamond J Dairy, Merced, Calif.; Green Hill Dairy, Scipio Center, N.Y.; Michigan State University Training and Research Center, Lansing, Mich.; and Stuart Farms Inc., Lowell, Mich.
In addition to the six Platinum winners, there were 14 Gold and 20 Silver NDQA winners (listed below). These U.S. and Canadian farms were selected from 72 nominations submitted for the 2024 awards. Farms were nominated by professionals, such as dairy plant field staff, veterinarians, extension specialists and Dairy Herd Improvement supervisors, who serve the dairy industry.
Gold Winners
A & J Bent Farms Ltd., Lawrencetown, N.S., Canada
Beattie Farms, Don Beattie, Holton, Mich.
Clearview Dairy Farm LLC, Scott and Brian DeMann, Martin, Mich.
Evergreen Dairy Farm LLC, Kris and Carla Wardin, St. Johns, Mich.
Fessenden Dairy, Tim Fessenden, King Ferry, N.Y.
Fischer-Clark Dairy Farm, Inc., Mike, Sue, Jon and Heidi Fischer, Hatley, Wis.
Hammond Dairy Farm LLC, Norman and Derrick Hammond, Dowling, Mich.
Hoewisch Homestead Dairy, Kevin and Jacob Hoewsich, Fremont, Wis.
Jordan Dairy Farms Inc., Brian and Randy Jordan, Rutland, Mass.
Kortman Dairy, Andy Kortman, McBain, Mich.
Mil-View Jerseys, Mark and Sara Miller, Millersburg, Ohio
Naatz Dairy Farm, Willie, Karen and Tristin Naatz and Family, Mantorville, Minn.
Reuter Farms, Carl and Dennis Reuter, Hastings, Minn.
S & L Goebel Farms, Steve and Leo Goebel, Fond du Lac, Wis.
Tollgate Farm, Jim and Karen Davenport, Ancramdale, N.Y.
Wargo Acres, Craig Carncross, Lodi, Wis.
Silver Winners
Bosscher Dairy LLC, JP Koop, McBain, Mich.
Chapin Family Farm, Doug and Sam Chapin, Remus, Mich.
Cook Farms, Jeffrey T. Cook, Lansing, N.Y.
Dorner Farms, Cory and Maria Dorner, Luxemburg, Wis.
Golden Elm Dairy, Eric Frahm, Frankenmuth, Mich.
Giercrest Farms, Evan Degier, Tavistock, Ont., Canada
Horning Farms LLC, Earl, Jeff and Mason Horning, and Katelyn Packard
J K Dairy LLC, Joel Mingerink, Coopersville, Mich.
John Koch, John and Maria Koch, Weidman, Mich.
Langeland Farms, Merle and Merlin Langeland, and Becky Smith, Coopersville, Mich.
Mueller Farms LLC, Eric and Dennis Muller, Van Dyne, Wis.
Neeper Dairy, Nathan and Heather Neeper, Wapakoneta, Ohio
Pixley Dairy, Kevin, Lisa and Lane Pixley, Nashville, Mich.
Pollack Dairy LLC, Ben, John and Lynn Pollack, Van Dyne, Wis.
Schultz Dairy Farm, Dave Schultz, Sandusky, Mich.
Spring Lake Farms LLC, Bill Hardy, Stanton, Mich.
Sveda Farms LLC, Christy Sveda-Schreiber and Mark Sveda, Deerbrook, Wis.
Vander Made Dairy LLC, Lambert VanderMade, Sherwood, Ohio
Walnut Ridge Dairy, Steve Palladino, Kohn Fleming and Keith Chapin, Lansing, N.Y.
Walton Farms LLC, Matthew and Steve Walton, Cochranville, Pa.
NDQA judges considered many criteria when reviewing finalists’ applications. In addition to milk quality indicators, such as somatic cell count (SCC) and standard plate count (SPC), judges looked at specific details about each operation, including milking routine, cow comfort, udder health monitoring programs, prevention and treatment programs, strategies for overall herd health and welfare, and adherence to drug use and record keeping regulations.
This year’s NDQA sponsors included Boehringer Ingelheim, GEA, Cargill, Hoard’s Dairyman and NMC. This summer, nominee information for the 2025 NDQA program will be available on the NMC website (www.nmconline.org) and in Hoard’s Dairyman magazine.
National Mastitis Council is a non-profit professional organization devoted to reducing mastitis and enhancing milk quality. NMC promotes research and provides science-based information to the dairy industry on udder health, milking management, milk quality, animal welfare and food safety. Founded in 1961, NMC has about 1,000 members in more than 40 countries throughout the world.
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Photo of the Platinum Award winners available upon request (jdsattler@nmconline.org).
Jim Good, Michigan State University, Amanda Canfield, Sandra and Dan Stuart, Stuart Farms, Wiebren Jonkman, Diamond J Dairy, Donald and Alex Janssen and their daughters Holly and Eve, Green Hill Dairy.
