Tara Vander Dussen , is a New Mexico native, growing up on her family’s dairy farm in Eastern New Mexico. Tara has worked as an environmental scientist for the last nine years on dairy farm projects throughout the southwest. As a project manager, she assists her clients with state and federal regulatory compliance, water conservation, sustainable management practices, and analytical reports. Tara’s passion is advocating for modern dairy farming by sharing her story about life on her family dairy through her blog, New Mexico Milkmaid, and her social media platforms. Her online community has more than 40,000 followers.
With sustainability at the forefront of consumers’ minds, Tara plans to share strategies for connecting with consumers by telling our sustainability story, highlighting the progress dairy has made, and leveraging our sustainability efforts to market our products.
Heglar Creek Dairy, based near Declo, Idaho, is a five-generation dairy farm with four partners. The Webb family has a dairy and beef operation, farm multiple crops, and have other enterprises including electrical contracting and a dairy chemical and supply company. They have a 1,100-cow barn that is fully robotic and automated, and they milk approximately 2,300 cows. The Webb family attributes their growth and diversification to different generations coming back to the farm and the people they surround themselves with.
They are passionate about their farm’s team approach and plan to feature a panel of team members who will describe how working together with hard work and a positive attitude have contributed to their success.