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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 West. 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 and her brother, William, operate Drakes View Dairy in Point Reyes, CA. They are milking around 200 Jerseys and Jersey-Crosses and ship their milk to Straus Family Creamery. Lianne is a fifth generation dairy farmer and is proud to share that she and her brother operate their dairy in the same location that the four generations preceding them have, spanning over the last 100 or so years. She is a 2013 graduate from Cal Poly, SLO with a Bachelors in Dairy Science and has been a part of the organic dairy industry since.
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 that consisting of 10 to 12 student employees per semester. The Chico State herd is made up 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, California.
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
Texas State Representative
Henk Postmus
Henk is a multi- generational dairy farmer who started dairying in the Netherlands where he was born and raised. He immigrated to his current dairy farm in Texas in 1998. Henk started his organic dairy farm in 2007 and to his surprise, really loves it. He really enjoys organic farming because of the grazing aspect and finds it to be similar to how he was raised up in the Netherlands. Henk spends most of his time working on the dairy and continuously researching how to make it better for our consumers and the next generations to come. Henk enjoys time in his pastures with his cows and being with his daughters. A fun fact about Henk is that he is very passionate about pro-cross breeding cattle. His favorite breed of cows are his red & white Holsteins!
Henk Postmus - Dublin, Texas
Oregon State Representative
Jenneke deJong
Jenneke deJong was born and raised in the Netherlands in a small city south of Amsterdam. Her dairy and agricultural roots run deep as she grew up and worked on her family's dairy farm with her parents and two brothers, which is still in operation today. After highschool, she attended college where she graduated with a bachelor's degree in IT. She then worked for Heineken until she met her husband Arie deJong and moved to the US in 1989 after they were married. Currently, Arie and Jenneke with 4 of their 5 children own and operate 2 organic dairy farms in Southeastern Oregon: Bonanza View Dairy and Windy Ridge. The first load of organic milk was shipped in July of 2004 to Horizon Organic. Several years ago they moved to Organic West. Over the years they have been able to transition more farm ground to organic and are able to grow a lot of their own feed. Raising their children on the dairy farm and getting to work alongside them as a family has been a great opportunity for them to obtain dairy knowledge, learn valuable life lessons and skills and most importantly experience the joy and rewards of hard work. All of their children have worked within the operations since childhood and continuously work closely in the family businesses.
Besides working in the office, Jenneke enjoys being outside, working in the yard or going for a bike ride, as well as cooking, playing piano and spending time with her grandchildren. Jenneke also volunteers at the local Farm Expo and is involved in FFA. Jenneke previously served on the OMRI Board and the LLC Management Committee (CCOF). Currently she is on the Klamath Drainage District board in addition to the WODPA board. Arie and Jenneke are both 5th generation dairy farmers.
Jenneke deJong - Bonanza, Oregon
At Large Representative
Vanessa Nunes (Alexandre)
Vanessa Nunes farms with family on the Alexandre Family Farm in Del Norte and Humboldt counties in Northern California. Vanessa is the Del Norte Dairy Manager and Co-Manages Marketing for their family milk brand. Their organic pasture-based dairies are spread between five milking facilities, milking 4500 organic milk cows. The family primarily ships their milk to their own AFF milk brand, as well as to Humboldt Creamery and Rumiano Cheese. Their cattle breeds are a cross between the New Zealand Kiwi Cross, New Zealand Ayrshire, 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 pastures. In 2020, Vanessa married Agriculture and Woodshop teacher, Justin Nunes, and in 2022 welcomed their daughter Jora, who is now Vanessa’s right hand gal on the farm. Vanessa represents the family and business on the boards of the 41st District Del Norte County Fair, Del Norte Farm Bureau, Del Norte Resource Conservation District and WODPA, while utilizing her love for youth and service as a Del Norte County 4-H leader.
Vanessa Nunes (Alexandre) - 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. 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
At Large Representative
RYAN MENSONIDES
Ryan owns and operates an organic dairy in Enumclaw, WA. The farm has 300-400 milking cows on 90 acres of pasture on the home farm. He also was able to assist in preserving a 250 acre block of farmland in nearby Graham, WA where he grows feed and keeps his heifers. Ryan and his wife Haylee have four sons and are in the process of building their own creamery and local retail market called Mount Rainier Creamery & Market. They will process organic glass bottled non-homogenized milk and butter and ice cream. Their market will carry their products along with many other local farm products in the area.
Ryan Mensonides - Enumclaw, Washington
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. Now, she works for WODPA as the Executive Director as well as working part time for DairyWorks helping farmers with animal welfare certifications and documentation. 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