Dairy Management Inc. (DMI) launched Portraits of Modern Dairy on National Farmer's Day, a documentary photography and film project spotlighting seven women across six U.S. dairy farms. The campaign arrives during the United Nations' International Year of the Woman Farmer and aims to close a visibility gap between the people producing America's dairy supply and the consumers who depend on it.
Nearly 97% of U.S. households purchase dairy products, yet the farmers behind that supply chain remain largely invisible in mainstream media. DMI developed the project to address what it describes as an incomplete picture: while images of cows, barns, and equipment are readily available online, the expertise, personalities, and decision-making of the people running these operations rarely surface.
The Farmers Featured
The six farms span Pennsylvania, Maryland, Texas, Georgia, Minnesota, and Ohio, and the women profiled bring backgrounds ranging from healthcare administration to agronomy to entrepreneurship. Lolly Lesher and her daughter Jaylene Lesher of Way-Har Farms in Bernville, Pennsylvania, represent two generations shaping the same family operation — Lolly through a direct-to-consumer farm market she built over decades, Jaylene through herd genetics and breeding. Alice Crothers of Long Green Farms in Maryland applied her healthcare administration background to farm finance and long-term infrastructure investments including a methane digester. Kyndra Brown, a fourth-generation farmer at Moo-View Dairy in Texas, combines digital herd-management tools with a lifetime of hands-on animal knowledge. Emily Schaapman of Schaapman Holsteins in Georgia also founded Dairy Girl Fitness, an online wellness platform for women in agriculture. Margaret Johnson of Trailside Holsteins in Minnesota holds a master's degree in agronomy and farms alongside three generations of family. Meagan Hempfling of Hemsteads Holsteins in Ohio — a sixth-generation operation farmed since 1862 — has modernized the farm with robotic milking systems and data-driven herd management.
"Our farm is where we work, raise our family and spend much of our lives, but it's a world most people don't get to experience firsthand," said Lolly Lesher, co-owner of Way-Har Farms and chair of the National Dairy Board. "I hope these portraits give people a chance to know us a little better and see dairy farming through our eyes."
Free Photography for Media and Operators
A curated selection of the Portraits of Modern Dairy photography is available at no cost through Unsplash, giving journalists, educators, food content creators, and hospitality professionals covering dairy-forward menus direct access to current, authentic imagery of U.S. dairy farmers. This is a meaningful resource for foodservice operators and media teams that rely on stock photography but struggle to find images that accurately reflect the modern dairy supply chain.
The full collection — including farmer profiles, photography, and film — is live at USDairy.com/Portraits. For operators and food and beverage industry professionals navigating consumer skepticism about supply-chain transparency, the campaign also offers a ready-made storytelling resource: documented, first-person accounts from producers that can lend credibility to dairy-forward menu and product narratives. DMI is funded by America's nearly 23,000 dairy farmers and importers and manages the National Dairy Council and the American Dairy Association.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
