Benjamin Styer

My career objectives are to develop genuine relationships, advocate for agriculture, and produce quality products in the dairy community. I am currently pursuing a degree in animal science with a dairy production emphasis. In the short term, I plan to explore career options within the dairy industry. This summer I will be interning at an on-farm cheese making facility, and my duties will include helping in the production floor making cheese, selling cheese, planning a large on-farm event, and interacting with consumers at farmers markets and other community events. Eventually, I hope to return to my family’s 2,100-cow dairy farm to further develop the farm’s genetic program and manage the farm with my siblings and cousins. My dream would be to utilize on-site processing on my family’s dairy farm to produce and market dairy products like ice cream, yogurt, or cheese through a farm store. Additionally, I will continue to stay involved in the agriculture industry by coaching local dairy judging teams, exhibiting dairy cattle at shows throughout the Midwest, and hopefully one day raising my future children in the agriculture community. One of the greatest blessings of my life has been growing up surrounded by agriculture; my eyes were opened to incredible opportunities and selfless people. I hope to allow other young people to experience this as well.