Learn ‘The Story of Us’ During Our Farmers Day Livestream on Oct. 9

While Taylor Swift recently unveiled her new album from a mint green briefcase, we are unveiling our farmer livestream from lush, green pastures. Her album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” is not quite like the life of a farmer, but Organic Valley farmers are doing a lot worthy of putting them in the spotlight. On Oct. 9, check out Organic Valley Live for virtual dairy farm tours across the U.S. Here’s a sneak peek of the farms you will visit:

Abbie Corse — Vermont

Sixth-generation farmer Abbie and her family run a dairy farm in Vermont, where they’ve been part of the cooperative since 2005. Abbie grew up on the farm and had no intention of becoming a dairy farmer until she had an epiphany while walking behind cows as she was 6 months pregnant. “Becoming a mom was that point I truly came to love the magic of these wonderful creatures,” Abbie said.

Since then, Abbie has run the farm alongside her parents, continuing her family’s legacy as she cares for the cows while raising her two sons. Balancing farm life with family duties isn’t easy, but Abbie has figured out how to do it while gaining deep respect for the land’s Indigenous roots and friendships with other farmers.

Ross and Jon Bansen — Oregon

This father and son are co-hosting this year on our Famers Day livestream. Jon has been a dairy farmer for more than 25 years and is an expert in grazing. He studied grazing operations in New Zealand and is passing on his knowledge to his son, other farmers and Oregon State University students.

The Bansens’ family farming legacy runs deep. Jon's father and grandfather were dairy farmers, and now he’s passing the legacy on to his oldest son, Ross.

“The pride I take in how successful our system has been is that my children see value in it and want to come back,” Jon said. “They want to have a part in agriculture, and in biological agriculture. And that’s what I take pride in, and that’s what I think is my legacy.”

Jack Mallonee and Maynard Mallonee — Washington

This father-son duo from Washington is passionate about organic farming and preserving the natural habitat on their farm. They transitioned the farm to organic in 1998 and became part of the cooperative in 2004. Maynard and his son Jack now manage a thriving dairy herd with intensive rotational grazing practices — something that’s been good not only for their cows but also for the local flora and fauna.

Thanks to the Mallonee family and their conservation efforts, their farm boasts the largest concentration of rare flower Kincaid’s Lupine in Washington. They’ve partnered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to save and preserve the seeds for future generations.

“If our farm wasn’t organic, the lupine would not be flourishing here,” Maynard said.

Sabrina Servais — Wisconsin

Sabrina and her family are very involved with conservation efforts on their multigenerational Wisconsin farm. They work with the Natural Resources Conservation Service via the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and Conservation Stewardship Program to protect the local waterways and improve soil health. 

It’s also important to her to keep her cows happy. In fact, one of their cows, Hazel, recently won our Happy Cow Showdown contest in May. Sabrina was also recently awarded Organic Valley’s Heart of the Co-op Award for her efforts in embodying our mission and encouraging others to do the same.

"There's comfort knowing my cows are there, and there's the spontaneity of never knowing what's next,” she said. “I get to be out here with my family, my cows, and I love trying to make the world a better place."

Jordan Settlage — Ohio

Sixth-generation farmer Jordan immersed himself in the organic dairy farmer life after serving in the Army. He worked on a conventional dairy farm in high school before joining the military after graduation. Both have been passions for him throughout his life, as they both have taught him the value of hard work.

After experiencing the horrors of war while serving honorably in Iraq, Jordan decided to focus more on growing life on his farm.

“It’s why I’m an organic farmer,” he said. “Because I don’t really like the ‘-cides’– herbicide, insecticide, fungicide, suicide and homicide. I’ve been around enough of that.”

On his farm, Jordan focuses on maintaining healthy soils, keeping his carbon-sequestered pastures lush and supporting the next generation of farmers through family involvement and help from the Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship Program.

Melissa Weyland and Roy Owensby — Wisconsin

Melissa and Roy have farmed in northern Wisconsin for about three years.

Melissa grew up on an Organic Valley farm, where her parents instilled in her the importance of land stewardship from a young age. She developed an appreciation of organic farming over the 22 years that her parents farmed organically. In 2023, Melissa and Roy joined Organic Valley — an homage to her childhood.

“We simply wanted to return to the land and make our own kind of difference,” she said.

Check out what their cows did last year, to the surprise of airline travelers: Cows Demonstrate Spelling Skills

Tune In and Enjoy!

Tune in to watch the “story of us” — the stories of the organic farmers who strive to help make life better not only for our fellow humans, but also for animals and the planet.

We’d love to have you virtually visit the farms! Here are the details:

• Schedule: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. CDT on Thursday, Oct. 9
• RSVP: Register on our livestream page to receive reminders and updates.