It Takes a Team BENTHEM BROTHERS DAIRY NAMED 2021 MSU DAIRY FARMERS OF THE YEAR. BY EMILY KITTENDORF
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orking with family on the farm allows for everyone to use their strengths to better the business. For Benthem Brothers Dairy,
the 2021 MSU Dairy Farmers of the Year, they rely on each other to continuously maximize efficiencies and find areas of improvement. “There’s five of us on the farm. We all do something different. We all manage something different. There isn’t one guy running the whole show. It’s five guys,” Kyle Benthem said. “This allows you to see what goes on in every aspect of the farm every day.” Originally started in 1940, the Benthem homestead in McBain, Michigan, became Benthem Brothers Dairy in 1981 when brothers, Doug and Bruce Benthem took over the family business with 30 cows and a stanchion barn. Since then, Doug’s son, Jason, and Bruce’s sons, Ryan and Kyle, became involved in the business. As part-owners, each of the Benthems manage a different area of the farm, while also contributing to the grunt work. “Every one of us have day to day chores,” Kyle said. “Whether it’s small or big, we show up to the farm every day. We try to take work off of our employees.” The active participation in what happens on the farm makes the Benthems strategic planners. During quarterly meetings with the entire family, they discuss the farm’s cost of production and plans for the future, including succession planning.
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