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PRESIDENT
ZACH CAHILL
Zach shares a certified organic farm with his dad in Ferndale, CA where he has milked about 500 cows since they became organic in 2006. He grows pasture and corn silage for his Jersey cows. He sells his milk to a local processor - Rumiano Cheese. Zach likes to spend his time watching his cows graze on his fresh pasture and enjoys the famous cool weather of the Northern California Coast. A fun fact Zach is very proud of is that they converted an old milking facility into a very popular, local wedding venue. His mom gets the barn April - November and the heifers get the barn from December - May (after a lot of power washing!).
Zach Cahill, Ferndale, California
1ST VICE PRESIDENT
STEWART KIRCHER
Stewart dairies in Dayton, Oregon with his brother Robert, and the Bansen family. Forest Glen Oaks and Forest Glen Jerseys have been organic since 1992 and ship milk to Organic Valley. The farms consist of 100% Jersey cows, more than one thousand acres of irrigated pasture for grazing, and two thousand acres of organic land for corn, alfalfa, grass, and grain production. Stewart graduated from Oregon State University in 2006 with a degree in Agriculture Science and has been on the dairy since 2013. Stewart is also involved in the Oregon Dairy Farmers Association leadership program.
Stewart Kircher - Dayton, Oregon
2ND VICE PRESIDENT
LIANNE NUNES - TAVERNA
Lianne is located in Petaluma, CA. Lianne & her brother, William, operate their family's dairy in Point Reyes, CA and are milking 110 cows, mostly jerseys. She's a 2013 graduate from Cal Poly, SLO and has been a part of the organic dairy industry since graduation.
Lianne Nunes-Taverna - Point Reyes, California
SECRETARY
DARBY HEFFNER
After graduating from California State University, Chico in 2006, Darby became the manager of the newly certified Organic Dairy Unit at the Chico State University Farm. Darby is in charge of managing the Organic Dairy Unit as well as the teaching and training the Dairy Management Team consisting of 10 to 12 student employees. The Chico State herd consists of 85 crossbred Friesian x Jersey cows that are milked seasonally. Chico State ships their milk to Organic West Milk. Darby and her husband, Travis, and their daughter, Hadlee, live in Chico, CA.
Darby Heffner - Chico, California
TREASURER
DEAN WESEN
The Wesens' farm is located in Bow, Washington which is located in the Northwest corner of the state - only about an hour from the Canadian border. Dean is in partnership with his three brothers as well as his parents. They farm around 1200 acres for feed for our 800 primarily Holstein herd. The Wesens' are able to grow around 300 acres of corn silage and the rest is in grass for pasture and hay silage. The Wesens started selling organic milk to Organic Valley in 2008. Dean really likes seeing the cows out on pasture again as do hundreds of passersby every summer who stop to take pictures. The Wesens belong to a meat coop and Dean is President of the local conservation district in Skagit County. Dean was also in the army reserve for 28 years and recently retired as an LTC.
Dean Wesen - Bow, Washington
EX OFFICIO
JENNIFER BERETTA
Beretta Dairy is located in Santa Rosa, CA. They milk about 300 Holstein and Jersey cows. They have about 400 acres total; 150 acres are designated for endangered flowers so they are unable to irrigate those, but are able to irrigate 250 acres for pasture. They are able to make silage and also are able to cut hay on some of the ground for a 2nd and 3rd cutting. Since their pastures are irrigatable, they can graze through the summer where many dairies around the area are not able to because they are dependent on rainfall. The dairy has been in operation for 55+ years and ship their milk to Clover Sonoma.
Jennifer Beretta - Santa Rosa, California
UNIVERSITY ADVISOR
DR. CINDY DALEY
Dr. Cynthia Daley is a professor within the College of Agriculture at California State University, Chico, and currently serves as the Rawlin's Endowed Professor for Environmental Literacy and the Director for the Center for Regenerative Agriculture & Resilient Systems.
Cindy is originally from Illinois where her family has been actively engaged in the farming profession for more than four generations. She completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Illinois and her doctorate at University of California, Davis.
She joined the CSU Chico, COA faculty in 1997 and later founded the Organic Dairy Education & Research Program in 2006. Seeing the need to grow the ecological farming movement, Daley went on to co-create the Regenerative Agriculture Initiative in 2016 and guided this program to Center status in May of 2019.
The new Center for Regenerative Agriculture & Resilient Systems is a consortium of interdisciplinary faculty and farmers who recognize the ecological benefits of regenerative farming practices including water conservation, soil fertility, and carbon sequestration. The Center's guiding principle is that agriculture, when done regeneratively, can be the solution to soil degradation and climate change.
Cindy Daley - Chico, California
Idaho State Representative
DURK DEELSTRA
Deelstra Dairy is located in Wendell, Idaho. Durk and his family milk about 600 cows in a 40 stall rotary parlor. They irrigate with pivots and wheel-lines. Durk's parents moved to Idaho from the Netherlands in 1991 to start a dairy. His family has been dairying in Friesland for over 200 years. They became certified organic in 2012 and are very happy with the switch. "There’s nothing like seeing cows on pasture!" They sell their milk to Organic West Milk. Durk handles the cow work and his Dad, Pete, takes care of the pastures. Durk has two brothers who also work with them. Durk's nephew loves helping out and checking on the moos as well. Durk enjoys snowboarding, hiking, pottery, music, and being outside.
Durk Deelstra - Wendell, Idaho
Washington State Representative
ANDREW DYKSTRA
Andrew and his family operate their farm in Northwest Washington. The Dykstras have been farming their land organically since 1989. Their farm includes vegetables, seed crops, and dairy. The Dykstras' dairy operation began in 2004.
Andrew Dykstra - Burlington, Washington
At Large Representative
VANESSA (ALEXANDRE) NUNES
Vanessa (Alexandre) Nunes farms with her siblings on the Alexandre Family Farm in Del Norte and Humboldt counties in Northern California. Their organic pasture based dairies are spread between four milking facilities, milking 3500 total organic milk cows. The family ships their milk to Humboldt Creamery, Rumiano Cheese, and to their own AFF milk brand. Their cattle breeds are a cross between the New Zealand Kiwi Cross, New Zealand Ayrshire, Dutch Holstein, Danish Jersey and German Fleckvieh. Vanessa graduated from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo with a BS in Agriculture Business and a minor in Dairy Science in 2015. Leaving for five months to study pastured dairy farms in New Zealand, Vanessa solidified her love for cows and lush pasture.
Pursuing her passions, Vanessa is currently working at the farm overseeing the calves and transition heifer areas as well as the farm marketing. Vanessa represents the family and business on the Del Norte County Rural Human Services Board, 41st District Fair Board, and also utilizing her love for youth and service as the Del Norte County 4-H executive team leader and citizenship leader.
Vanessa (Alexandre) Nunes - Crescent City, California
At Large Representative
TONY SCHILTER
Tony and his wife, Sunny dairy in Lewis County more specifically Chehalis, Washington with their son, Lonny, and his wife, Michelle, who are partners in the family business. Lonny is a graduate of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Lonny and Michelle plan to carry on the family dairying tradition. They milk about 250 Holstein cows and run about 250 head of young stock. Tony and Lonny focus heavily on milk quality and have had many years of success. They started shipping to Horizon Organic in 2006. Tony has served on several Boards throughout the years including Farm Credit Board of Directors, Dairgold Board of Directors and has more than 30 years of service with the USDA Soil Conservation Board. Tony was nominated as Treasurer of WODPA in the Fall of 2013 - 2021. Tony and Sunny have two sons and one daughter. Wendy, their daughter attended Cal Poly San Lois Obispo, then received her Masters from the University of Florida. She now lives in Illinois and is a counselor at Freeport Community College. Tony and Sunny's youngest son, Monty is a graduate of Virginia Tech where he studied Agriculture Economics. He is now in upper management within Darigold.
Tony Schilter - Chehalis, Washington
At Large Representative
RICHARD HUGHES
Richard and Marilyn Hughes have been in the dairy business for over 50 years. Richard started shipping organic milk in 2006 to Straus Family Creamery and has been shipping to Straus Family Creamery ever since. He milks year-round on a total of 182 acres with 72 acres designated for the lactating cows; the rest is for heifers and silage. He is able to double crop silage ground during the good rainfall years. He is able to get 3 crops of hay and then graze the heifers on it to clean up the residue. His pastures are designed small fields where he rotationally grazes with about a 14-16 day rotation. He uses manure water and dam water to irrigate through big guns. Richard thinks the best irrigations are when he is able to mix the manure water with the fresh water. He is generally able to irrigate almost all summer depending on rainfall and availability of water. He tries to grow as much on farm feed as possible.
Richard Hughes - Bodega, California
Executive Director
LIA SIELER
Lia (Van Egmond) Sieler is a third- generation farmer born and raised on her family farm in Galt, Ca - about 45 minutes south of Sacramento. Lia graduated from Chico State in 2016 with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture. After graduating, she moved back to Galt where she lives now with her husband, Bobby, and their cat, Kubota. Lia worked for a cheese plant immediately out of college before accepting a position as the Quality & Field Manager for an organic milk broker. She has worked in many facets of our industry which she says has given her the distinct honor of understanding the many stakeholders within the business, but her heart brought her back to working closely with farmers acting as a conduit between them and the decision makers within the industry.
Lia Sieler - Galt, California