SPOTLIGHT ON DAIRY HERO Dan Ripley, Moravia, NY

We always enjoy hearing about highly successful “family farms” in the dairy world. Ripley Farms is one of those wonderful illustrations of passing down a love for dairying from generation to generation. Dan’s grandfather endured many difficulties to make the Guernsey farm work, and passed that endurance on to his son, Rowland (Dan’s father), who was told by a High School teacher that he would never succeed at it. After all, they were only averaging 8,000 lbs milk/cow. Dan’s father was determined to succeed, and in several years was averaging 12,000 lbs/cow. In 2011, he earned the Guernsey Master Breeder Award. Rowland’s work ethic, determination, and love for Guernseys was passed down to Dan, and they recently broke the 20,000 lbs/cow mark! Dan’s favorite part is dairy genetics, studying the pedigrees. Even though he added Holsteins to the farm back in the 90’s, he enjoys getting the “best of the best” within the two breeds, and is thankful for AlphaGenetics, Inc.’s emphasis on low SCS bulls. “If they’re not +2 points on everything, why use them?” is his motto. They milk 447 with many NY and National Show winners. Yet, breeding is only one part of having a successful dairy herd. Their best improvement decision was using sand in their free stall barn. A close second was the widening of some stalls for the wider Holstein cows. The 3-4” made a huge difference in comfort resulting in more milk. Separating cows into feeding groups has helped meet the different feed requirements cows have at different times of their lifecycles. In addition to the dairy, Dan is very active in his community, investing in others and striving to make things better for folks, and encourages others to do the same. Dan has been serving as a Town Councilman for several years, also on the County Fair Board since 1992, and coached High School basketball 18 years. He has enjoyed using AlphaGenetics, Inc.’s products since 2007, and heartily recommends Uddersol® for dry cows. When getting ready for shows, he uses Skin Joy Lotion® which really helps. We thank God for the Ripley’s heritage of hard work, determination, and giving and are pleased to call them friends and add them to the list of “Dairymen Heroes.”