Leading by Mentorship, Music and Football Passions Beyond the Farm, a Cow's 15th Calf

Five conversations are heard on today's episode from the latest issue of the Dairy Star: a dairy judging coaching career, a trouble-free cow giving birth to her 15th at Rosy-Lane, an interview with both a mentee and mentor on a Minnesota dairy farm, balancing a love of music while farming, and a University of Wisconsin-River Falls senior and dairy farmer making history. First, we hear from the 2025 Ralph Keeling Leadership Award winner Jeff Hammerand. Through his coaching, Hammerand has found a way to repay his community, helping provide a service that was once afforded to him. He also hopes to inspire youth to continue to pursue their passion for dairy, while developing lifelong friendships and skills. Then, we hear the story of cow 5435: the invisible wonder. She milks, breeds back and freshens with little fanfare, staying out of trouble and minding her own business. She gave birth to her 15th in early December, her first female offspring. Another heard on today's episode highlights a pair supporting one another. When Alan Schroepfer started dairying, he had a mentor to lean on for advice and to help him make tough decisions. Fast forward more than 20 years, and the roles have changed; he is now the mentor, helping Ryan Heinen squeeze his way into the industry. Next, we hear from Bryan Anderson who grew up on a dairy farm and is a country singer and songwriter who has his own country music extended play and single. Bryan helps his parents during busy seasons in addition to his full-time job working in landscaping having the goal to do 2-3 performances every weekend. We wrap today's episode with the NCAA Division III football national champion Kevin Spahn. Starting at center for the University of Wisconsin-River Falls' offensive line this season, Kevin brought the same work ethic he learned on his family's dairy farm to his four-year career of being a member of the Falcon football team. New episodes are released every Monday after the newspaper is published, sharing many conversations from the dairy community! Send story ideas and your comments to [email protected]. Subscribe to the podcast for reminders of episodes - next episode will be released on February 16 - about the dairy community and leave a review! We look forward to bringing you this brand new way to consume Dairy Star. This is Dairy Delivery. All dairy, all the time. This episode is sponsored by FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative.