Number One Priorites « Back

“On our farm every day presents different challenges that we happily embrace,” says Elizabeth Johnson. Her and her husband, Dean and their family own and operate Johnson Dairy located near Heron Lake, Minnesota.

The Johnson family dairy began in 1969 with Dean’s parents, Maynard and Ellen. Dean began dairying with his family in 1983 and four years later married Elizabeth. They began to take over the family farm at that time.

Johnson Dairy’s mission has always been to be profitable, while still producing the highest quality of milk possible for the consumer, and this objective has never been forfeited despite the challenges they faced—including rising input costs that come with caring for their cattle and land.

Cow comfort and land stewardship are the number one priorities for this Minnesota dairy farm family. Most of their cows are housed in one of two hoop barn equipped with sand-bedded stalls which are groomed daily. Fresh sand is added weekly. The remaining of the mature cows are housed in a compost barn, which means the bedding is made from wood shavings. All cows are milked in a parlor that can accommodate 20 cows at one time.  The Johnson’s believe it’s important to keep cows comfortable so they can be both healthy and productive. “In the summer, cows are kept cool by fans and sprinklers, which we have in both barns,” says Elizabeth.

For the Johnson family, living and working on their 320 acres of land is a privilege and they want to preserve it for future generations. Their sustainable practices include rotating crops, reducing tillage, soil testing their ground and applying the nutrient-rich manure from their cattle back to land. “We take great pride in preserving our resources,” Elizabeth points out.

Dean and Elizabeth have four children—April, Chelsey, Jacob and Ethan. Both April and Chelsey were past finalist in the Princess Kay of the Milky Way contest, Minnesota’s program to select young woman as ambassadors of the dairy community.

“We feel blessed to have three generations working side-by-side on our family dairy,” says Elizabeth. “In this day and age, this is not only rare, but also an honor.”