Portners meet with other dairy producers from across nation

SLEEPY EYE, Minn. -- Tom and Mary Portner have always valued the importance of leadership skills within the dairy industry, and they were able to enhance their skills at the recent Young Cooperatives Conference in Orlando, Fla..

The annual conference invites each dairy cooperative to send two representatives no older than 40 to the event, which focuses on the importance of consumer education improving leadership skills .

Participants take the information gained and use it in their communities and operations.

The Portners represented Dairy Farmers of America's central region. DFA is one of the largest cooperatives in the country and had 22 people representing the cooperative at the conference.

The Portners had to compete in a contest involving several couples from their region to be eligible to attend.

"We had to fill out a six-page paper about our dairy and we had to go through an interview process as well," said Tom and Mary. "We were then chosen to represent DFA central region at the conference."

Conference speakers discussed estate planning, public relations training and the importance of educating the next generation about agriculture and the dairy industry.

"The education portion of the program was excellent," said Mary. "We know the public has a higher level of trust with the producers than anyone else. It is a responsibility of us as producers to really step in there and help promote and defend our industry."

Tom found the estate planning beneficial.

"Learning how to pass on the family farm is very important with running a farm nowadays," said Tom. "We have to be willing to explain the intentions of our operation to our children and get our ducks in a row no matter how young we are. You have to be ready to plan for anything."

The Portners said the opportunity to meet dairy farmers from across the country was helpful.

"We ran into families that were as young as about 20 years old and just starting to dairy back on their home operations," said Mary and Tom. "We were all able to learn from each other and that there are different sizes of dairy farms and management styles."

They said it was a fun experience.

"We all look at the same issue with different glasses, but we all come to the same conclusion to make a quality product for consumers," said Tom and Mary. "We really learned that we need to unify our beliefs when we are talking to the public."

"We encourage all young farmers to participate in whatever cooperative they are a part of and take the opportunities given to them," said Tom.

The couple said it's important for young farmers to use their voice.

"Be active and be a voice for the dairy industry," said Tom and Mary. "Get away from the farm for a few days to learn and get a positive word out about agriculture and dairy."