During the International Year of the Woman Farmer, Midwest Dairy celebrates Kate McAndrews and her commitment to dairy, family, and community. Learn how mentorship, leadership, and a lifelong connection to agriculture have shaped her journey and inspired her to support others along the way.
There is no single definition or responsibility that captures what it means to be a woman farmer. For Kate McAndrews of McAndrews Dairy in central Minnesota, that meaning has been shaped by a lifetime of experiences, a deep connection to dairy farming that continues to evolve, and a sense of purpose in contributing her knowledge and perspective of something larger than herself. Her understanding of her role has grown from the women who influenced her, the work she has taken on, and the relationships that have guided her forward.
When asked who her mentors were, Kate says, “I would first say my mom.” Growing up on a dairy farm, she remembers watching her mom manage the farm’s bookkeeping, payroll, and timecards while also supporting the operation behind the scenes and serving in different community roles. Those early memories showed her the kind of steady leadership that keeps a farm moving. After relocating to Minnesota from New York, Kate found another mentor in a Minnesota woman farmer whose family she worked with for several years. “She kind of took me in,” Kate said. “Through the years, just the different conversations that she would have with me helped me grow a lot as a person.” What began as a job became a relationship that helped her navigate a new stage of her life and showed her the value of someone willing to invest in another person.
Kate has continued to find inspiration in the women closest to her, including her mother, sister, and mother‑in‑law. Each has shaped her in different ways, from her sister’s leadership in her career and volunteer work to her mother‑in‑law’s experience on the farm and the support she and Kate’s father‑in‑law have provided as the operation has grown. Together, these women have shown Kate that leadership does not have to look a particular way, and their influence can be seen in how she approaches her own family, career, farm, and community.
Just as others have invested in Kate, she has made giving back an important part of her life. Through her involvement in agriculture and her community, she has been able to share her experiences, build relationships, and contribute beyond the boundaries of her own farm. Whether through leadership, service, or simply taking the time to support someone else, Kate recognizes the impact one person can have on another. For her, giving back is also about continuing the cycle of support that has followed her throughout her own journey. “I think that is what life is,” Kate said. “Who you work with and how it carries you forward, little things that you may keep in mind.”
Relationships are also at the heart of Kate’s connection to dairy farming. From growing up on a dairy farm in New York to building a life and family in Minnesota, dairy has remained a constant even as her relationship with the industry has changed. Working alongside family means sharing responsibilities, experiences, and decisions while each person brings different strengths to the operation. For Kate, it has also given her the opportunity to combine what she has learned throughout her career with a personal connection to the cows, crops, and people depending on those decisions. Rather than having one set list of daily responsibilities, she primarily serves in an advisory role, stepping in where her knowledge and experience can be most useful. “Every day I am on the farm, I am involved with decisions,” she said.
As a dairy nutritionist, Kate brings years of experience working with cows, feed, and forage to those decisions. Her primary responsibility is monitoring forage production, feed coming out of the forage piles, and the rations being fed to the herd. She pays close attention to dry and fresh cows, recognizing how important the transition from the dry period into a new lactation is to the health and productivity of the herd. Her role extends wherever she is needed, whether feeding calves, preparing for harvest, or thinking through how cows move through different areas of the farm.
One of her favorite opportunities to contribute comes during corn silage harvest. “I enjoy corn silage harvest very much,” Kate said. After watching the corn grow throughout the season and navigating whatever weather the year brings, a short harvest window can have an impact that lasts throughout the year. “When it comes our time to manage that crop and harvest it as ideally as we can, it’s a lot of decisions,” she said. “It can be very stressful, but also very exciting.” Knowing that the forage will become feed for the herd makes those decisions especially meaningful.
Kate’s role as a woman farmer cannot be defined by one responsibility. Her contributions stretch from her family and community to her career as a dairy nutritionist and the everyday decisions that help move the farm forward. The women who encouraged her showed her that there are many ways to lead and make an impact. Today, she carries those lessons with her while creating opportunities to pass that same encouragement on to others. For Kate, being a woman farmer is ultimately about more than the work she does. It is about the people who helped shape her, the people she can support in return, and the purpose she has found in using her experiences to contribute to something larger than herself.
Thank you to Berkley Hagedorn, Midwest Dairy’s 2026 Minnesota Farmer Relations Intern, for this article!