Virtual Sharing Wisdom Event:
“Cultivating Your Business
Happening Live on Thursday, April 25, 2024 from 12:00 – 1:00pm CST (1:00 -3:00pm. EST | 11:00am – 1:00pm MST | 10:00am – 12:00pm PST)
*Registration includes access to the live event, a virtual swag bag and access to event recordings (including all three breakout rooms)
Are you a trailblazer driven by an entrepreneurial spirit? Join us for “Cultivating Your Business” an online experience designed to empower and guide you on your journey of business cultivation and growth, helping you look at what’s next and learn from others that have been there – done that. Whether you’re just starting out with a passion project or aiming to expand your business, this event is tailored to meet your unique needs and aspirations. This Sharing Wisdom is not just another webinar; it’s a dynamic, interactive gathering of like-minded individuals who share a passion for dairy, an entrepreneurial mind and a vision for success.
We are so excited to welcome a variety of speakers to this year’s Sharing Wisdom. To kick off us off, Hailey Pipher (@SheLikesMilk) will open the session by discussing her business journey and invigorate your entrepreneurial passion.
After the keynote, you will have access to 1 of our 3 breakout rooms:
Working Through Change:
Discover how our speakers navigated business and life changes (both planned and unplanned) while staying true to themselves and following their passions. Gain insights into their resilience, innovation, and authenticity amid challenges and learn how you too can thrive amidst uncertainty and embrace change when it happens.
Speakers: Valerie Miller, Artist and Owner, Steel Cow, LLC and Lindsey Loken, Owner, Blondies Butcher Shop
Moderator: Laura Daniels, DGN and Hitch Pin Consulting, LLC
Taking the Leap/First Steps:
Ready to turn your dreams into reality? Take the leap with practical guidance, experience stories and inspiration from business women who have been in your shoes. Whether you’re pondering your first steps or seeking to scale your existing early-stage venture, this session will provide you with the motivation and guidance to initiate and embark on your entrepreneurial journey.
Speakers: Lynn Bolin, FarmStay Host and Dairy Farm Owner, New Day Dairy GuestBarn and Natalie Berning, Owner, Berning Acres
Moderator: Lorilee Schultz, Mil-R-Mor Farm
Developing and Elevating:
Elevate your business to new heights of success and hear from women who are fully immersed in continuing to grow their established business. Dive deep into their stories, strategies for business development, brand building and market expansion. From refining your product(s) to strengthening your market presence, discover their innovative approaches to differentiate yourself and your business.
Speakers: Emily Darchuk, Founder and CEO, Wheyward Spirit and Stephanie and Hayley Painter, Co-Founders/Co-CEOs, Painterland Sisters
Moderator: Jennifer Fernandes-Hanf, milc group
To close the virtual event, all participants join back together as Gena Fletcher (Bridgeforth, LLP) will present on three key takeaways to make your business successful.
Meet the Speakers:
Opening Keynote Speaker: Hailey Pipher, Founder and CEO, She Likes Milk
Hailey Pipher is a passionate advocate for the dairy industry and a creative entrepreneur. She earned her bachelor’s degree in agriculture science with a focus in dairy science from Cornell University in 2019. For the first 4 1/2 years of her post-collegiate career, Hailey dedicated herself to the northeast dairy industry, specializing in nutrition and animal health. However, in the summer of 2022, Hailey felt a deep calling to explore her creative side in a way that her technical corporate role couldn’t fulfill. This led her to create ‘She Likes Milk,’ an online platform where she could express her imagination & love for dairy. What began as a creative outlet quickly evolved into a thriving brand. In July 2023, Hailey made the bold decision to transition from her corporate career to focus on managing ‘She Likes Milk’ full-time. Now based in her home office in northern New York, she oversees a successful business that reaches millions online. Through a blend of dairy-filled recipes and positive milk marketing, Hailey aims to present the dairy industry in an appealing light, connecting with a diverse audience. Outside of her entrepreneurial endeavors, Hailey finds joy in spending time outdoors with her fiancé and their two Labs and Irish Setter. She also enjoys brainstorming and planning future ventures for her business, always striving to innovate and inspire within the dairy community
Closing Keynote Speaker: Gena Fletcher, Executive Team Coach/Meeting Facilitator, Bridgeforth, LLP
Gena Fletcher brings over three decades of diverse experience spanning the medical field, baking industry, network marketing and agriculture. Throughout her career, she has dedicated herself to coordinating and enriching the lives of those she serves, facilitating their journey towards success and productivity. As the founder of Vast Professional Solutions, LLC, Gena collaborates with Bridgeforth, LLP as an Executive Team Coach and Meeting Facilitator. Her mission is to bridge communication gaps within teams, unlocking their fullest potential and fostering growth. Beyond her professional endeavors, she passionately hosts the faith-based podcast “Tell Me About a Man”. In addition to her multifaceted career, Gena and her husband, Jody, are actively involved in building a self-storage business in the Oklahoma City area. Together they find joy in travel adventures, hiking, and supporting their three adult children as they carve out their own paths to success.
Breakout Session: Working Through Change
Speaker: Valerie Miller, Artist and Owner, Steel Cow, LLC
Valerie Miller is the artist and owner of Steel Cow, an online art company. Along with her husband, Josh, they are celebrating their 20th anniversary! Valerie dreamed of growing up to be a painter, and has shipped farmers tens of thousands of prints. 4 years ago, her 3 boys were a bit much for her to handle, so she took a break from painting – and started growing flowers with the kids and had no real plan other than to feel better. It worked! Fast forward 2 years and she has had 2 major fires in her business in less than a year. She let her husband and insurance guys handle the fire cleanup while she ran to the flowers to cope, learning lessons along the way. Now she’s back with Steel Cow and started painting her flowers – something she never thought she’d do, but has embraced the detour with all the emotions.
Speaker: Lindsey Loken, Owner, Blondies Butcher Shop
Lindsey Loken is the Owner of Blondies Butcher Shop: the only pink meat locker this side of the Mississippi. Blondies Butcher Shop has a rich history that spans all the way back to 1934. As the proud fourth owner, Lindsey takes the reins, proudly leading a predominately women-operated establishment. She’s here to bridge the gap between the hardworking producers and the meat-loving consumers with a Main Street butcher shop with full retail and harvest floor. Blondies has an open-door policy for all that want to learn; from the high school classroom to producers trying to better their carcass yields, Blondies is the place to start. With no history in the meat processing industry, come along with Lindsey as she talks about the ups and downs of forging your own path in a tough industry. Listen and ask her questions on how she dealt with unwanted change, unexpected crisis, opportunity and how being different became her biggest ally. Through humor and grace her story will resonate with anyone pursuing their own path.
Moderator: Laura Daniels, DGN and Hitch Pin Consulting, LLC
Laura Daniels is a mother, farmer, consultant and agriculture advocate. For 15 years Laura served as the General Manager of her dairy, Heartwood Farm, in charge of day-to-day operations. Now, she advises fellow farmers and business owners in the areas of team building and strategic planning with Hitch Pin Consulting. Laura is a proven organizational leader with executive-level experience and a background in dairy nutrition and on-farm management. She is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Dairy Science and Agricultural & Life Sciences Communication. She is active with the Iowa County and Wisconsin Farm Bureau among many other organizations and her pride and joy is coaching the Iowa County Dairy Judging team, which she has done for 19 years. Laura founded Dairy Girl Network in 2013 to help fellow dairywomen across the United States connect and succeed. She enjoys sharing this passion through giving speeches and leading workshops that inspire many to find their purpose, build their skill and have the confidence to tell their story.
Breakout Session: Taking the Leap/First Steps
Speaker: Lynn Bolin, FarmStay Host and Dairy Farm Owner, New Day Dairy GuestBarn
Lynn Bolin is a big city girl gone country. She grew up in the suburbs of Minneapolis and met her dairy farmer husband, Dan, at Iowa State University where she studied Business Management. Today, they own New Day Dairy, a 5th generation dairy farm near Clarksville, Iowa, which features a one-of-a-kind vacation rental – the GuestBarn. Opening in January 2020, guests from across the country have travelled to rural Iowa to #sleepwiththecows & 24/7 cow gaze on a working dairy farm. Until this year she homeschooled her three children who are now in school allowing her extra daytime hours for being an extra hand when needed on the farm, taking care of the farm books, consumer-focused marketing, cleaning & managing the GuestBarn, giving tours to guests and school groups, & helping with the organizational management of the farm.
Speaker: Natalie Berning, Owner, Berning Acres
Natalie is a first-generation farmer. She met her husband late night, 17 years ago, and he asked her to be his date for his brother’s wedding the next day while also introducing himself as a farmer. Today, with her husband and five children, they own and operate Berning Acres, a 400-cow dairy farm outside of Galena, Illinois. In the last three years, Natalie has launched their farm into Agri-Tourism as well. Berning Acres welcomed well over 1,000 guests to their farm in 2023. They offer kids farm camps, daily farm tours and even some VIP type of events they like to call “Night at the Farm: Cows, Beers & Cheese Curds” and “Cows, Wine & Charcuterie.” They also host a family-friendly, all ages VIP version called “Day at the Farm: Picnic & Play” or “Cows, Kids & Curds.” Natalie also enjoys anything to do with fitness and she teaches cycling classes at a local boutique studio.
Moderator: Lorilee Schultz, Mil-R-Mor Farm
Lorilee Schultz manages Mil-R-Mor Farm, in Orangeville, Ill., where she milks 60 registered Holsteins and grows over 200 acres of corn, alfalfa, wheat and pasture. On the farm, some of her passions include developing deep pedigrees, producing high quality milk, and incorporating practices that improve soil health and increase biodiversity. She graduated from Iowa State University with a double major in Agricultural Business and Economics, where she was involved in the dairy judging team, NAMA, Dairy Science Club and Ag Student Council. While in college, she enjoyed some terrific internships with Hoards Dairyman and the USDA Foreign Ag Service, but her love of cows brought her back to her grandparents’ farm. Lorilee is active in her local Holstein club, a YDLI graduate, and former president of the Holstein Foundation. She recently served as the chairperson for the National Milk Producers Federation Young Cooperators advisory council. Lorilee is also mom to her toddler daughter and enjoying all the chaos this stage of life brings.
Breakout Session: Developing and Elevating:
Speaker: Emily Darchuk, Founder and CEO, Wheyward Spirit
Wheyward Spirit Founder and CEO Emily Darchuk forged her career as a food scientist in the natural food and dairy industries before disrupting the liquor sector through her ingenuity and commitment to sustainable spirits. Always curious about where food came from and how it made those around her feel, Emily holds an undergraduate degree in Food Science and Nutrition, a Master’s in Food Science, and an MBA in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, with previous experience leading top CPG innovation projects from concept through commercialization. While working with dairies, she observed the pain point of whey waste impacting local producers, which motivated her to do something about it. Balancing her roles as a scientist and consumer, Emily perfected her signature spirit through years of trials, carefully crafting the recipe while mastering the distillation process hands-on, producing a first-of-its-kind farm-to-flask specialty spirit. Emily is also a published author in top technical and trade journals, is a seasoned keynote speaker, and was named a Grist 50 Environmental Fixer and one of 20 women revolutionizing the alcohol industry.
Speakers: Stephanie and Hayley Painter, Co-Founders/Co-CEOs, Painterland Sisters
Stephanie and Hayley Painter are sisters and Co-Founders/Co-CEOs of Painterland Sisters. They grew up in the rolling hills of Northern Pennsylvania on their family’s fourth-generation regenerative organic dairy farm. Their love for agriculture developed from a young age as they cared for the land, animals and community. After graduating from university, the two sisters pursued their lifelong dream of sustaining and vertically integrating their family’s farm. Despite facing numerous challenges, they achieved this goal through the production of organic skyr yogurt, which they launched into retail in March of 2022. They aimed to establish a direct connection between consumers and the direct source of their food, the American farmer, thereby educating the nation about what sustainable agriculture means to their health, their children’s health and the health of Mother Earth herself. Their yogurt is now sold in all 50 states and over 2,000 stores nation-wide!
Moderator: Jennifer Fernandes-Hanf, milc group
Jennifer is one of nine children raised on her family dairy farm in Tulare County, Calif. She was active in her local 4-H and Jr. Holstein clubs and enjoyed raising replacement heifers, registered Holsteins and showing cattle. Jennifer earned a BS degree in Agricultural Business Management from Cal Poly State University in San Luis Obispo, Calif. While at Cal Poly, she made lifelong friends as a member of the Los Lecheros Dairy Club and the Dairy Cattle Judging Team. Jennifer’s career has combined her passion for the Dairy industry with her keen interest in software and technology. The bulk of her career was as IT Director for World Wide Sires, Ltd. In 2019, she and her husband, Phil, had the opportunity to relocate to the beautiful Central Coast where she discovered and soon joined the Milc Group team. Jennifer is Vice President of Product, heading up Milc Group’s people management and employee training software products. She has three grown children and enjoys walks on the beach, latin dancing and teaching youth faith formation classes at her church.
*Registration includes access to the live event, a virtual swag bag and access to event recordings (including all three breakout rooms)
Dairy Girl Network 