Employee Spotlights

Ali Rozar (Moore) grew up on a cotton and peanut farm in central Georgia. It was there that the values of farming were instilled in her — something that in 2021 led her to a career as a field representative in DFA’s Southeast Area, where she covers more than 80 farms across Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi.

“I always knew I wanted to work in agriculture,” Ali says. “Farming takes dedication, patience and persistence. Growing up on a farm and then studying agriculture in college really prepared me for this role, and I feel honored to go to work each day to help our farmerowners run successful operations.”

As a field representative, Ali is the first line of contact for the farmer-owners in her assigned region. She visits two farms a day on the low end, and usually around 10–15 farms each week. More than 90% of her days are spent on the road traveling to farms, on farms and at industry meetings. She also helps with the Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) Program and Gold Standard Dairy Program requirements and evaluations, which ensure consumers know their milk is being made ethically and sustainably.

“A big part of my job has to do with building trust,” Ali says. “I am the liaison between DFA and the farmer-owners themselves. Part of my job is having hard conversations with farmers — if I need to talk with a farmer-owner about milk quality or suggestions for improvement, I make sure I do it in a way where we both leave the conversation feeling positive and optimistic.”

Ali says her favorite parts of her job are the close relationships she’s built with our farmer-owners and how different and exciting each day is spent outside on dairy farms. She also likes making sure our farmers know about and utilize all the benefits they have access to, like using DFA’s Member Savings Network program when purchasing equipment.

On top of her day-to-day work visiting farms, Ali is active in the dairy industry and takes every opportunity to learn more and meet new people. She attends Georgia Milk Producers meetings, and she is in the process of participating in the Dooly County young farmers program, a development program for young people in the agriculture industry.

“I’m thankful I started my career at DFA, and I’m proud to work for a Cooperative that is owned and governed by farmers,” Ali says. “I have meaningful interactions each day with the farmer-owners I work with, and I feel like I learn something new every day.”

HOW THE CLOSE COMMUNITY OF EMPLOYEES AT OUR Cabool, MO., PLANT HAVE SUPPORTED DFA FOR 25 YEARS

As DFA recognizes 25 years of bringing value to dairy farmers, the employees who have worked at the DFA plant in Cabool, Mo., since the beginning, pause to reflect.

Russell Davis, processing manager; Becky Huckabay, assistant plant manager; and Terry Roberts, quality assurance operator, were all working for Mid-America Dairymen, Inc., when it combined with three other dairy cooperatives to unify dairy farmers across the country and become DFA.

The Cabool plant is part of our Beverage and Dairy Foods Division. Since the beginning to today, the plant has been contracted to manufacture and package products for key customers using our farmer-owners’ milk. The Cabool plant produces adult nutritional beverages, dairy-based coffee beverages, energy protein beverages and Sport Shake®, a DFA brand.

When the Cabool plant became a part of DFA, it had one customer. Today, the plant supports several customers, producing a variety of products.

“It has been rewarding to watch how the success of this plant has supported the success of the Beverage and Dairy Foods Division,” Russell says.

The positive reputation DFA upholds in the tight-knit Cabool community is critical to the plant’s continued success. While DFA is a global Cooperative with opportunities nationwide, the plant thrives because of its local talent.

“This is a small community, so you don’t just work with these people, you also live next to them,” Becky says. “I think that brings us all together. If there is somebody out on long-term sick leave and they have exhausted their sick days, our co-workers will organize potlucks, raise money or do things that help support them.”

After working at the Cabool plant for more than 25 years, Russell, Becky and Terry say the plant feels like home, even throughout the long days and hard work, because of their fellow employees.

“I’ve made a lot of friends here through the years,” Terry says. “When you spend the amount of time that me and some of these other people have here together, it starts to feel more like a family. To me, that’s a highlight of my career.”

This is a small community, so you don’t just work with these people, you live next to them.

– Becky Huckabay

It has been rewarding to watch how the success of this plant has supported the success of the Beverage and Dairy Foods Division.

– Russell Davis

When you spend the amount of time that me and some of these other people have here together, it starts to feel more like a family. To me, that’s a highlight of my career.

IT’S YOUR CO-WORKERS’ TIME TO SHINE

We know that each of our Cooperative’s nearly 19,000 employees have a story to tell — and we want your help telling them. If you have a co-worker who you think deserves the employee spotlight in a future edition of thescoop, submit their name for consideration.

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Alta Dena Dairy Plants Work As One To Value Their Diverse Set Of Employees

The two DFA plants that produce Alta Dena® Dairy products in City of Industry, Calif., both employ roughly 300 people, and while the employees of the plants are all diverse in their roles, they have formed one DFA community — one with many longstanding employees and great teamwork.

Located in separate buildings due to acquisitions over the years, the production and distribution plants sit across the street from each other, but both work simultaneously to produce Alta Dena Dairy products like fluid milk, cream, buttermilk and more.

“Our average employee tenure is 18 years,” says Hem Shah, general manager of the Alta Dena Dairy North plant. “We have a lot of employees who have been here for more than 30 years, and we have another 15 or so employees who have been here more than 25. Both plants have worked to cultivate a positive, supportive culture and our retention speaks to that.”

Creating a positive workplace doesn’t happen overnight. Both Hem and Victor Gastelum, general manager for the Alta Dena Dairy South plant, as well as LaVenta Wooten and Maria Rodriguez, human resources (HR) managers for the North and South locations, respectively, have found creative ways to make their employees feel valued.

Safety Bingo

The operations teams introduced a safety bingo game for employees last year when the South location was struggling with safety ratings. Employees join the bingo pot, which increases each day when no accidents or injuries occur in the plant. When employees get a bingo, their reward can range from $100–$500. “Safety bingo has ended up being a big hit with our employees,” Victor says. “Accidents and injuries have gone down tenfold, and I think our employees genuinely look forward to playing along and winning prizes.”

Roundtable Talks

Every quarter, employees at the North location are invited to voice any feedback or pain points they’re having at work at roundtable talks. Hem encourages his employees to not mention other employees’ names during the talks, and employees can talk to him about anything they want — as long as they have two ideas for a viable solution to their concern. From there, Hem and the team work to make an action plan.

“A lot of progress has come out of my roundtable talks,” Hem says. “For example, our night shift route drivers gave us the feedback that they couldn’t see the stripes in the parking lot very well. I walked out there with them around 2 a.m. to look, and I couldn’t either. This was an easy solution because we repainted the stripes, and it’s an example of a concern I just wouldn’t have had awareness of without giving my employees an open mic.”

Both plants have worked to cultivate a positive, supportive culture, and our retention speaks to that.

– Hem Shah

Diversity Celebrations

The City of Industry facilities are two of DFA’s most racially diverse locations — 67% Hispanic, 17% Caucasian, 7% Black and 7% Asian. Approximately 10% of the employees prefer Spanish as their language of choice. Not only do the HR representatives cultivate a workplace culture of respect, they also work to make sure holidays are celebrated and employees feel appreciated and have opportunities to give back to the community. Between the two locations, six employees are involved in DFA’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts, including Victor and LaVenta, who sit on DFA’s DEI Advisory Council.

Whether employees are volunteering together, celebrating holidays and milestones or working together to find new and more efficient ways to work, the culture of the plants shine through each day.

Lemon Olive Oil Loaf

Start to finish: 1 hour 30 minutes

Makes: 9-by-5-inch loaf

Scan the QR code to get the recipe.

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