Stepping into a new role

OWATONNA, Minn. — Jon Schmidt’s World Dairy Expo experience is about to get a lot more intricate. Schmidt was recently elected to the WDE board of directors, which means he is no longer just taking in the events at Expo, but working behind the scenes to plan for its future.

“It’s the biggest dairy event in the world, and the best dairy cattle in the world come there,” Schmidt said.

The 34-member WDE board is composed of business professionals and dairy producers who meet three times a year, where they review potential changes and new ideas. The board also has subcommittees that work to review specific areas of the event, and those subcommittees meet outside of regular board meetings.

Schmidt, along with his wife, Kim, and daughter, Madi, milks 250 cows at their farm, Schmity Holsteins, near Owatonna. The farm includes mostly registered Holsteins, with a handful of registered Jerseys. Schmity Holsteins has earned the Progressive Genetics Herd award from Holstein Association USA Inc. for 20 consecutive years.

Through his work on the board, Schmidt said he hopes to continue making Expo a place future generations can enjoy.

“Being on the board and those committees, you get to put your perspective into making Expo the best it can be,” Schmidt said. “You always want to make it better every year. We all know the dairy industry is getting smaller, but we want to make Expo bigger and better every year.”

Schmidt has attended Expo several times over the last 25 years. He said he enjoys taking in the trade show, seeing some of the top show cattle in the world, attending the Holstein sale and catching up with people he knows.

Being a dairy farmer who lives and breathes the profession every day is a vantage point Schmidt said he is proud to bring to the board. He said there is benefit in having a board with different backgrounds.

“There are a couple of other dairy farmers on the board, but you also have people who are really into showing cows and some people who are with the trade show,” Schmidt said. “Being that I am a dairy farmer and milk cows every day is something I can bring to the table.”

The variety of viewpoints and industry experience help guide the board in making decisions about Expo, including contests, show classes, trade show logistics and more.

“There are still farms that just have a handful of cows at home but still participate in Expo,” Schmidt said. “It is important to bring that dairy farmer point of view.”

Schmidt said he sees a growing interest in the dairy industry among youth, many of whom do not come from dairy farms. He said he values how WDE has invested in youth events and involvement at Expo.

Schmidt’s dairy farming experience will be just one viewpoint he brings to the table, as his board seat also represents Associated Milk Producers Inc. Schmidt serves on the AMPI board, where he chairs both the government relations and political action committees.

“I am representing AMPI and the dairy farmers in Minnesota,” Schmidt said.

After being elected in February, Schmidt traveled to Madison, Wisconsin, for his first meeting in March. Board members are also at WDE in October as much as possible, where they are asked to help with events.

“This year I will be a lot more involved with Expo,” Schmidt said. “Before I was just a spectator and could walk around and take in all the events. This year I will be a part of it, helping at different events throughout the whole show. It will be different, but it will be exciting to be more involved and be more hands-on and see how everything works.”

For Schmidt, taking a seat on the WDE board is a duty he said he is proud to take on, knowing the impact it has on the future of Expo.

“There is getting to be fewer and fewer of us farmers, and fewer and fewer people who want to be on these boards,” Schmidt said. “We need someone to step up and be in these positions. I want these things to keep continuing and go on to the next generation.”