By Lynn Grooms, Agri-View

COBB, Wis. – “Laura’s energy fills the room whenever she walks in,” said Tom Lohr, general manager of Star Blends.

He was talking about Laura Daniels, founder of Dairy Girl Network, an organization proving networking and programming opportunities to women in the dairy industry. Her energy helped launch the organization in 2013. The energy also carries over to Daniels’ work as a business-development manager for Sparta, Wisconsin-based Star Blends – and in managing a 250-cow Jersey herd in Cobb with her husband, Jarred Searls. The couple has two children – Nathan, 15, and Julia, 10.

Daniels’ knowledge of and passion for the industry has helped her build relationships with independent dairy-nutrition consultants, and recruit and provide technical and cultural training for sales staff at Star Blends.

“Laura’s leadership skills are off the chart,” Lohr said. “She gives people energy and really helps our organization from this standpoint. She’s an outside-of-the-box thinker and good at embracing change.”

Daniels joined Star Blends about two and a half years ago. Before that, she was a nutrition specialist with Vita Plus, where she worked with Star Blends. Prior to that, she was a dairy-management consultant and nutritionist for Cargill.

Daniels has seen Dairy Girl Network grow to about 800 members from multiple states. While membership is free, there are many more reasons for the organization’s growth.

For more on Dairy Girl Founder, Laura Daniels, click here!