THE GREAT
See pages 24 and 25 of this section for details!
December 7, 2024
“All dairy, all the time”™
Volume 26, No. 20
Educating via social media
Megan DairyGirl brings the farm to the phone By Dan Wacker
dan.w@dairystar.com
NEW VIENNA, Iowa — In a day and age where the public is disconnected from food production, there are tools to bridge the gap and put dairy farms in the pocket of consumers. Megan McAllister, known on social media as Megan DairyGirl, is helping to educate the public about life on the farm by utilizing social media to reach people from all walks of life. Across three platforms — TikTok, Facebook and Instagram — Megan DairyGirl proles have nearly 600,000 followers as McAllister seeks to educate the public on daily life on a dairy farm.
Megan and her husband, Ted, in partnership with Ted’s brother, Rob, milk 280 cows at McAllister Family Dairy in a double-12 parallel parlor. The Holstein and Jersey herd has an average daily production of 100 pounds of milk, with tests of 4.5% butterfat and 3.3% protein. McAllister got her start in the dairy industry on her family’s farm, Kregel Farms, near Guttenberg. After earning a dairy science degree from Iowa State University, she entered the workforce at the Northeast Iowa Dairy & Agriculture Foundation where she worked for seven years. Like many in her age group, McAllister was on social media, and like nearly a billion others in 2020, she
downloaded TikTok. “I started poking around a little bit and found that there was an agriculture community on TikTok,” McAllister said. “There was a lot of farming content, some livestock content, but I didn’t see any dairy content.” With established creators on other platforms, TikTok was a way to reach a different audience. “There were established, original dairy farm content all-stars on other apps, and they’re fabulous at what they do,” McAllister said. “I just wasn’t seeing them on this app. So, I decided to make a couple of videos and if they opped, or it’s a negative experience, I don’t need it. But the videos took off and people came back with good, genuine questions.” Turn to MCALLISTER | Page 2
DAN WACKER/DAIRY STAR
Megan McAllister stands in her calf barn Nov. 19 on her farm near New Vienna, Iowa. McAllister has garnered a following on social media with her Megan DairyGirl proles as she educates people on daily life on a dairy farm.
InvesƟng in the future Gathjes build new robot barn By Sarah Middendorf sarah.m@star-pub.com
MARK KLAPHAKE/DAIRY STAR
The Gathje family — Denise (from leŌ), ScoƩ, Gregory, Jonathon and Joe — gather in the barn Nov. 23 on their farm near Richmond, Minnesota. The Gathjes milk 70 cows in a freestall barn with one robot.
RICHMOND, Minn. — March is full of anniversaries for dairy farmers Scott and Denise Gathje. On March 1, 1995, they started dairy farming. On March 4, they began milking their cows in a new robotic barn. The Gathjes were milking their cows in a 58-stall tiestall barn. They now milk 70 cows in a freestall barn with one DeLaval robotic milking unit. They also farm 180 acres. “I enjoy the cows being comfortable and not forcing them to go outside and come back in,” Denise said. The transition from the old barn to the new went well.
“I was amazed the rst day as the cows kept coming in to be milked,” Scott said. “I thought, ‘Oh man they are going to be coming in and kicking and everything.’ I don’t think there was one milker kicked off the whole day.” They started by bringing 38 cows in the rst day and then another six after the original cows adjusted. From there on, the cows went to the new barn as they calved. “We had a lot of rst calf heifers at that time and they transitioned wonderfully,” Denise said. The Gathjes have taken their time learning the information provided by the robot. “It’s a learning process,” Denise said. “You can’t learn all of that at one time. I still like eyes on the animal.” Turn to GATHJES | Page 6