SUSTAINABILITY SPOTLIGHT
Parker Bivens BY EMILY KITTENDORF
MMPA IS COMMITTED TO COOPERATIVE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES THROUGHOUT OUR ENTIRE SUPPLY CHAIN. AT THE FARM LEVEL, MMPA MEMBERS ARE ALSO ON A SUSTAINABILITY JOURNEY. WE’RE CHECKING IN WITH A HANDFUL OF MEMBER FARMERS LEADING THE CHARGE WITH THIS SUSTAINABILITY SPOTLIGHT SERIES.
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ike many other farms, sustainability on Ladine Dairy Farm begins out of necessity and desire to pass the farm on through generations. “If I'm not
sustaining, I’m not going to be here, and I want to pass it onto the next generation like my grandpa has to my uncle,” Parker Bivens (District 2, Bellevue, MI), owner of Ladine Dairy Farm said. For Bivens, sustainability is at the root of his efforts to automate his operation. What started as a love of technology, coupled with the recognized labor challenges they were facing, turned into installing technology in all facets of their farm.
FARM
HERD
LAND
Ladine Dairy Farm LLP Bellevue, Michigan
120 milking
380 acres of alfalfa, corn, soybeans, rye and wheat
milk messenger
/ MAY-JUNE 2022
milk messenger / MAY-JUNE 2022
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