LOOK INSIDE FOR OUR
SPRING CALF & HEIFER
Special Edition!
DAIRY ST R
Volume 24, No. 3
March 26, 2022
“All dairy, all the time”™
WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH
A woman at the heart of change Sukalski reects on pursuing, promoting dairy By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com
LE ROY, Minn. – Chris Sukalski is a dairy farmer through and through, having made it her life’s work to see that the industry – the people, the cows and the land – are well taken care of. “All of a sudden, it’s hit me. I’ve been farming for over 30 years,” Sukalski said. “When I rst came home in 1988, it was because my dad had decided to sell the cows and crop farm instead. My family would have been out of the dairy industry if I hadn’t made this my career.”
Sukalski and her brother, Scott Reiland, are co-owners of Reiland Farms, LLC in Mower and Fillmore counties. Sukalski manages the 500cow dairy on a farm she and her husband, Troy, bought in 2001 near Le Roy. Scott manages the agronomy and feeds the replacement heifers at the home farm near Spring Valley. After college, Sukalski worked in an ofce job at a dairy breed magazine for a couple years in Columbus, Ohio. “That really helped me appreciate the rewards of farming and being your own boss,” Sukalski said. “I’m thankful I had this opportunity.” After returning to the farm, Sukalski was quickly put in a leadership position, managing the herd and overseeing employees as the family grew the herd and Sukalski’s parents Turn to SUKALSKI | Page 6
KATE RECHTZIGEL /DAIRY STAR
Chris Sukalski is co-owner of Reiland Farms, LLC in Mower and Fillmore coun�es in Minnesota. Sukalski has been dairy farming for more than 30 years.
Promoting US dairy products in Dubai Levzow partakes in mission trip to help increase exports By Stacey Smart
stacey.s@dairystar.com
STACEY SMART/DAIRY STAR
The Levzow family – (from le�) Ken, Becky and Ralph – milk 150 registered Jerseys and Holsteins and farm 950 acres near Rio, Wisconsin. Becky went to Dubai last November with three other dairy farmers and staff from the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) to promote American dairy products.
RIO, Wis. – Becky Levzow had the experience of a lifetime in November 2021 when she visited the city of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. She was not there on vacation but traveled halfway around the world to help promote U.S. dairy products. The ve-day mission was packed with opportunities to shed light on the quality, diversity and abundance of American-made dairy foods. “It was an amazing and wonderful experience,” Levzow said. “Dubai is a place I never thought I’d see, and I was honored to go.” The trip was sponsored by Dairy Management Inc. and the United States Dairy Export Council. Levzow, three other dairy farmers – Larry Hancock, who milks 4,000 cows in Texas;
Marilyn Hershey, who milks 900 cows in Pennsylvania; and Alex Peterson, who milks 120 cows in Missouri – and USDEC staff made the 20-hour trip to Dubai. Local USDEC staff joined the group when they arrived. “We all come from family farms that practice sustainability, and this was a great opportunity for us to tell our story,” Levzow said. “It’s good for these countries to hear from farmers – who we are, what we are, what we do. We put a human face to our experience, and that goes far for our sales. I milk 150 cows, and Larry milks 4,000. But in the end, we all strive for quality and are devoted to animal care.” The trip’s goal was to increase dairy product exports into the Middle East by way of Dubai, a dynamic regional Turn to LEVZOW | Page 8