2011 March/April Issue - Land O'Lakes Inc.

Josh (left) and John Zonneveld Jr. check in on one of the milking parlors where their 6,500 cows are milkedtwice a day.The success of the business started withthe basics – making sure the cows werehealthy and producing well, and maintainingfinancial strength. “My mom and dadwere always good with money,” said JohnJr. His father kept a journal for each of hissons to track their work on the farm andtheir individual earnings. He paid a percentageof interest from these earningsback into the dairy as investment.From the fifties to the futureJosh Zonneveld – John Jr.’s son and oneof the managers of the dairy today – alwaysknew he wanted to be in the family business.“I have the success and experiencesof my grandfather and my dad to learnfrom. Seeing what they’ve accomplishedmakes me excited to see what we can dofrom here,” he said. Several of Josh’s cousinsand his two brothers also help managethe day-to-day operations of the farm.But farming has changed dramaticallysince the fifties. “It seems like when mygrandpa started the business, the onlything standing in the way of success washard work,” said Josh. “Now we’re heavilyregulated with environmental issuesand permitting problems; there are a lotmore roadblocks.”Success in the future will rely on the nextgeneration of Zonnevelds being resilientto industry challenges, innovative in theircompetitive approach, and as always, extremelyhard-working.“We want to reduce our carbon footprintas much as we can by milking theleast amount of cows and getting the mostamount of milk, while still keeping ourcows healthy,” said John Jr.One of the biggest innovations on theZonnevelds’ farm is a new free stall facilityconstructed six years ago. The free stallsprovide a clean, comfortable place for thecows to rest, and allow plenty of fresh airand California sunshine into the space.“My dad always told me that the one thingyou want to see in your corrals is your ownshadow,” Josh added. Since installing thefree stalls, the dairy has benefited from increasedproduction.Back to the basicsToday the Zonnevelds get nine and a halfgallons of milk from each cow – versusthe 5 gallons 60 years ago. This adds upto nearly 65,000 gallons each day. Part ofthis increase is due to innovations in theindustry that have helped increase productivity,and part of it is the foundationJohn Sr. created that continues to drive theZonneveld Dairies today.“We’ve always strived to reduce inputcosts and get better at the basics,” saidJosh. “That’s a mentality that my grandfatherhas always shared with us.”Aside from the family members, manyZonneveld Dairies employees have workedat the farm for more than 10 years – contributinglong days and hard work to helpthe business thrive. And the second generationof Zonnevelds is carrying on thetradition of reinvestment into the dairy.They’ve established an ag services businessthat the third generation will help runas they carry the business into the future.Both John Jr. and Josh have taken onleadership roles not just on the farm, butalso in the industry. John served on theLand O’Lakes Board of Directors from1999 to 2010. In 2010, Josh joined theLand O’Lakes Ag Executive Council forRegion 3. “The more experiences a persongoes through, the more well-rounded andsuccessful they’ll be,” said Josh.The next generation of Zonnevelds inspiresconfidence in their elders. Josh, hisbrothers and cousins are interested in loweringcosts. They want to make sure that theanimals are healthy, and that every animalproduces well. They make sure that everycow is well cared for, and bred back in timeso she can produce milk into the future.“What’s most exciting is having my familyto come to work with every day,” said Josh.“I grew up running around and playing withmy cousins all day on the farm, so the factthat I’m able to continue that camaraderiein my day-to-day family operation makes thework that much more enjoyable.”John Jr. shares a similar sentiment as hisson. “Most families don’t get this opportunity,”he said. “It’s great to come to workevery day and see our family still workingtogether for a common goal.” ■The Zonneveld farm is home to 20,000 animals,including nearly 3,000 calves.www.landolakesinc.com MARCH/APRIL 2011 19