University of Kentucky Dairy Science Program

04/22/2026

Dairy farmers check this out. Farm tour in Barren County on Thursday, April 23.

Join us for the next Young Dairy Producers of Kentucky monthly farm visit series! We will be visiting Legacy Dairy on April 23rd, 2026 at 2pm CT. Legacy Dairy is located at 2896 Goodnight-Hiseville Road, Cave City, KY 42127. We are excited to share this value-added operation with those that may be thinking about diversifying their operation. If you have any questions, ideas for the next farm or industry related location, or would like to learn more about getting involved in the Young Dairy Producers of Kentucky group reach out to Melissa Huggett, KDDC Program Coordinator, at [email protected] or by phone (859)516-2458.

Legacy Dairy is a fourth-generation family farm located in Hiseville (Barren County), owned and operated by Doug and Genelle Jones. While the farm has deep roots in traditional dairy farming, Legacy Dairy has evolved into a value-added operation focused on producing high-quality, cream-line milk bottled right on the farm. Today, the farm milks 28 cows on just 17 acres, proving that small-scale operations can thrive through innovation and intentional business models.

What makes Legacy Dairy truly unique is its commitment to processing and selling every drop of milk produced on the farm. Since launching their on-farm bottling operation in 2020, no milk has left the farm for a co-op. During the tour, visitors will see the full operation from milking to bottling. Legacy Dairy has also utilized the Southeast Dairy Innovation Initiative (SDBII) grant program to invest in key infrastructure improvements, including an automated bottling system, a 500-gallon pasteurizer, a date printer for labels, and in-house antibiotic testing equipment. These investments have significantly improved efficiency and overall sustainability of the operation.

03/31/2026

03/25/2026

Check this out for tomorrow!

We are excited to kick off the Young Dairy Producers of Kentucky monthly farm visit series tomorrow, March 26, 2026. Meet us at Long Family Dairy in Glasgow, KY at 10am CT and after lunch we will be at T & K Dairy, Inc. in Summer Shade, KY at 2pm CT. Come to one or both stops as your schedule allows and see what other Young Dairy Producers are doing in Kentucky! If you have any questions or need to get in touch with KDDC on the day of the event reach out to Program Coordinator, Melissa Huggett at 859-516-2458.

03/23/2026

Applications are being accepted now for the U-DAIRE program!

The Undergraduate Development and Internship Research Experience (U-DAIRE) is designed for students across the Southeastern Region to gain experience in the dairy industry. During the internship, students will participate in a two-week session focused on leadership and team building at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville before completing a seven-week internship where students will learn and assist with daily management at a dairy farm and processing facility, including milking management, processing, packaging, and marketing products direct to consumers.

Read more about UK students' experience in the U-DAIRE program last year: https://bit.ly/4srmVFA

Apply here by April 20: https://bit.ly/4bsdbmY

02/24/2026

Join us today.

01/31/2026

Register now for the Kentucky Dairy Conference.

01/23/2026

Join us for the 2026 Kentucky Dairy Conference and hear from speaker Roger S. Thomson, D.V.M.

Dr. Thomson grew up on a dairy farm in Southern Michigan where he learned the ethic of hard work and the challenges that face dairy owners and managers. He has been a practicing dairy veterinarian for 46 years working in both Ohio and Michigan with clients ranging from 30 to 3500 cows.

After nine years as an associate veterinarian in two different practices, Dr. Thomson launched his own, all-dairy practice in 1988 named Team Management Concepts. The name reflected his strong belief in the power of teamwork.

The last 36 years, Dr. Thomson added milking system evaluation and milk quality consulting as a specialty within his dairy practice. 14 years ago he launched his second business, MQ-IQ Consulting, LLC to highlight his milk quality consulting from his routine dairy veterinary work. In 2016 Dr. Thomson sold Team Management Concepts allowing him to spend 100% of his time providing milk quality consulting for both individual and corporate customers throughout the US and internationally.

In 2011 Dr. Thomson designed and built the first portable, milking system simulator in the world called The Teaching Parlor©. He uses it several times each year to introduce people to modern milking system function. His goal is to train individuals how to correctly perform ISO/NMC airflow analysis on milking parlors.

In 2017 Dr. Thomson accepted a position as a dairy management instructor and Dairy Challenge coach in the Animal Science Department at Michigan State University. In 2019 a joint appointment in the College of veterinary medicine instructing dairy production medicine sections was added to his duties at MSU. He continues to provide independent milk quality consulting though MQ-IQ Consulting, LLC.

In 2020 Dr. Thomson received the annual Boehringer Ingelheim AABP Award for Excellence in Preventive Veterinary Medicine – Dairy Cattle.

Visit kydairy.org to register for the conference. Hotel block closes February 2nd, 2026.