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Packard chosen as Outstanding Young Dairy Cooperator

A southeast Michigan dairy farmer says consumer connections will be key to the long-term success of her farm.

Katelyn Packard tells Brownfield her family has recently added a farm store to counter significant changes in milk prices and input costs.

“I think expanding in that direction where we’re getting closer to the consumer and having more control over what our income is, I think that’s what we’re looking a little more long-term at,” she says.

About a half hour from Ann Arbor, the farm has also started holding monthly events for the public to increase foot traffic.

“To share our farm and do it in a profitable way that it’s worth our time and our effort,” she says.

Packard is a family partner in Horning Farms, which milks 400 cows and farms 950 acres.  She was recently named the Michigan Milk Producers Association Outstanding Young Dairy Cooperator and is the third generation in her family to earn the honor.