Rudy DeJong is a key leader at Mayflower Dairy. With a strong background in dairy farming and farm management, Rudy is committed to maintaining high standards in animal care, operational efficiency, and Innovation. Through dedicated leadership and a practical approach to decision-making, Rudy helps guide Mayflower Dairy’s continued success while supporting innovation and best practices within the dairy industry.
Mayflower Dairy: 75680 62nd Street Decatur, MI 49045
Brian Preston is a 4th generation dairy farmer, operating alongside his father, uncle, and cousin. Preston Dairy milks 1,000 head of dairy cows and utilizes ~1,600 acres to grow corn, alfalfa, and high-oleic soybeans. Additionally, the family also raises 4,000 head of contract hogs. Preston earned his bachelor’s degree in agribusiness management from Michigan State University. He has served on several different committees, such as the Michigan Milk Producers Association board of directors, the American Farm Bureau Federation’s dairy working group, and the Michigan Farm Bureau’s Young Farmer State Committee.
Preston and his family took a leap and planted high oleic soybean in 2024. After investing in a used roaster and grinder, the farm began feeding the high oleic soybeans later that year and saw a large bump in milk fat. They have had continued success with feeding the high oleic soybeans since and Preston has been able to speak about the farm’s cost savings and milk production gains to several outlets, helping to spread the word on high oleic soybeans in Michigan. Recently, Preston Dairy invested in a new setup with a Dilts-Wetzel electric roaster and hammer mill to meet capacity for a higher level feeding rate of the high oleic soybeans.
Nathan Brandt has been the Dairy Herd Manager at Four Cubs Farm in Grantsburg, WI since 2014. The dairy currently milks 975 cows with 16 Lely A4 Robots. Retrofitting the barn and installing the robots following a devastating parlor fire in the fall of 2017. Navigating the rebuild and transition to robotic milking brought valuable lessons in budgeting, innovation, and resilience – skills Nathan continues to apply today.
Four Cubs Farm has been feeding Roasted Hi-Oleic soybeans since the fall of 2022. Since then, the farm has invested in on-farm roasting and grain storage. The team at Four Cubs Farm has tested different bean roasting techniques and fat supplementation approaches to enhance herd performance and operational efficiency.
Nathan earned a bachelor’s degree in Animal Science with a minor in Food Science from UW – River Falls, where he got his start in the dairy industry through an internship with GENEX. Utilizing his beef background he co-founded Brickfield Market in 2022, a venture that sells beef from crossbred steers raised on the farm and features their meat in a food truck. Nathan and his wife Elisabeth have two young kids, and he enjoys coaching them in sports and getting them involved in life on the farm.
Nathan Elzinga grew up on a dairy farm, became a graduate of the dairy management program from Michigan State University, then returned home to manage the family’s dairy alongside his wife, Jenny, and their 5 kids. Before selling the farm in 2018, Elzinga and Jenny were named the 2017 Outstanding Young Dairy Cooperators from MMPA. Elzinga had been doing his own nutrition work on the family farm, trying out new strategies and ideas. So, after the farm sold, Elzinga joined the feed team at Caledonia Farmers Elevator as a Ruminant Nutritionist.
Elzinga’s knowledge of nutrition coupled with his experience as a dairy farmer has helped to form a successful career of feeding dairy cows across the state of Michigan. Additionally, he works in a small capacity with Michigan Dairy Tech helping producers to understand their milking software and technology. Outside of work, Elzinga has been a part of the MSU Internal Dairy Challenge program for the past few years helping to teach and guide students in all aspects of the dairy farm.
With the boom of high oleic soybeans hitting Michigan recently, Elzinga helped to formulate the diets for the MSU trials utilizing high oleic soybeans. He also has been successful in feeding both roasted and ground high oleic soybeans and the high oleic soybean expeller meal. Elzinga has been an integral part of helping some producers set up their own on farm roaster and grinder to make sure those producers get the most out of their soybeans.
Lynn Olthof is a PhD candidate under Dr. Barry Bradford studying dairy management at Michigan State University. Lynn grew up on her grandparents’ pasture dairy in West Michigan and went to MSU in 2017 to obtain an Institute of Agricultural Technology (IAT) Dairy Management Certificate. After the IAT 2-year program, she stayed at MSU and obtained a bachelor’s degree in Agribusiness Management and a master’s degree in animal science. Lynn was a member of the MSU dairy judging team and a national championship dairy challenge team during her time in undergrad. Lynn was also the Recruiting Operations Assistant for the Michigan State Women’s Basketball Team from 2017-2022. As a graduate student Lynn is heavily involved in teaching dairy courses, helps to coach the dairy judging team, coordinates the MSU Dairy Education Academy, and researches economic implications of dairy farm management decisions.
Jason holds a bachelors of science in Animal Science and a master of arts in Rural Planning, both from the University of Wyoming. He attended Instituto de Cervantes in Quito, Ecuador for Spanish language studies. He has traveled extensively throughout Latin America and has a thorough understanding of Latino cultures from South America to Mexico.
Jason has worked extensively in beef and dairy production throughout the United States. He currently works as a bilingual milking efficiency and labor consultant for customers of IBA Dairy Supplies. His passions include kettlebells, cows and downhill skiing with his daughter.
Jason Reid posee una licenciatura en Ciencia Animal y una maestría en Planificación Rural, ambas de la Universidad de Wyoming. Estudió español en el Instituto Cervantes de Quito, Ecuador. Ha viajado extensamente por América Latina y tiene un gran conocimiento de las culturas latinas desde Sudamérica hasta México. Jason ha trabajado ampliamente en la producción de carne y leche en los Estados Unidos. Actualmente trabaja como consultor bilingüe en eficiencia de ordeño y gestión laboral para clientes de IBA Dairy Supplies. Sus pasiones incluyen el ejercicio, las vacas y el esquí alpino con su hija.
Dr. Julio Giordano is the director of the Dairy Cattle Biology and Management Laboratory in the Department of Animal Science at Cornell University, Director of the Cornell Agricultural Systems Testbed for the Farm the Future, and a Co-Director of the Cornell Institute for Digital Agriculture (CIDA).
Dr. Giordano’s research focuses on the development, implementation, and evaluation of technology and novel management strategies for dairy production systems. The overarching goal of his research program is to integrate concepts of animal biology, farm management, engineering, and data-analytics for enhancing the reproductive performance, health, and profitability of dairy farms. Dr. Giordano’s group has pioneered research with dairy cattle reproductive biology and health, precision technologies, automation of management tasks, and development of data-driven solutions such as targeted reproductive and health management of dairy herds. Ultimately, Dr. Giordano’s research group works to improve dairy production systems through a deeper understanding of cow biology and the implementation of advanced technology.
El Dr. Julio Giordano es el director del Laboratorio de Biología y Manejo del Ganado Lechero en el Departamento de Ciencia Animal de la Universidad de Cornell, Director del Banco de Pruebas de Sistemas Agrícolas para la Agricultura del Futuro., y Co-Director del Instituto de Agricultura Digital de Cornell. La investigación del Dr. Giordano se centra en el desarrollo, implementación y evaluación de tecnología y nuevas estrategias de manejo para los sistemas de producción lechera. El objetivo de su programa de investigación es integrar conceptos de biología animal, gestión de granjas, ingeniería y análisis de datos para mejorar el rendimiento reproductivo, la salud y la rentabilidad de las granjas lecheras. El grupo del Dr. Giordano ha sido pionero en investigación sobre biología reproductiva y salud del ganado lechero, tecnologías de precisión, automatización de tareas de manejo y desarrollo de soluciones basadas en datos, como el manejo estratégico reproductivo y sanitario de las granjas lecheras. Como meta general, el grupo de investigación del Dr. Giordano trabaja para mejorar los sistemas de producción lechera mediante una comprensión más profunda de la biología de la vaca y la implementación de tecnología avanzada.
A veterinarian, epidemiologist and microbiologist by training, Dörte Döpfer is a professor in the Department of Medical Sciences, Food Animal Production Medicine Section of the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
She works on large data sets about infectious disease dynamics, food safety, and emergence of antimicrobial resistance factors. In addition, lameness, particularly Bovine digital dermatitis, prediction models for rare events, machine learning for One Health and farm animal production medicine, computer vision models, and disease surveillance are part of her research projects. She teaches Applied Epidemiology and Artificial Intelligence for DVMs and Life Scientists.
Dr. Alycia Bales is the Animal Nutrition Technical Support representative for Caledonia Farmers Elevator (CFE) located in Caledonia, Michigan. She works with a team of ruminant nutritionists where she helps to be a bridge between applied research and on-farm practical solutions. Alycia received her B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from Michigan State University where her graduate work concentrated on dairy cattle nutrition with a focus on fatty acid supplementation. During her Ph.D., Alycia ran several studies that investigated the utilization of high oleic acid soybeans and the impact of this soybean on milk production responses. Since joining the CFE team in the Spring of 2024, she has been part of the effort to help dairy producers adopt the idea of including high oleic soybeans into dairy rations.