Meet the owners of Noo Sun Dairy

Second generation dairy farmers, Mitch and Holly Hancock, will be hosting the 2024 U.S. Farmers and Ranchers in Action's Honor the Harvest Forum. They care for 7,000 animals across their three locations in Utah and farm 2,500 acres. Mitch and Holly share about the history of the farm, team of employees, conservation efforts, technology use, future goals and what they are most looking forward to at USFRA's Honor the Harvest Forum.

Become a partner of USFRA: usfarmersandranchers.org/partnerships  

Transcript

Joanna Guza: 
Welcome back to Farm Food Facts, brought to you by the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers in Action, where it's our mission to bring all of American agriculture together with farmers and ranchers at the center to collectively identify and tackle critical long-term issues. One of the many ways we accomplish this mission is by hosting The Honor the Harvest Forum. Each year USFRAs’ Honor the Harvest Forum is September 10th through the 12th at Noo Sun Dairy located just outside Salt Lake City, Utah. This is a one of a kind experience where executive leaders and agricultural producers meet on a ranch or a farm to generate new ideas, partnerships, and actions to advance sustainable food, fuel and fiber. Today we are going to meet the host of the 2024 USFRA's Honor the Harvest Forum. And that is Mitch and Holly Hancock. They are dairy farmers and the owners of Noo Sun Dairy. We will learn about the history of the farm, technology efforts to engage consumers, and what they're most looking forward to at Honor the Harvest. Well, to get our conversation started, can you tell us about the history of the farm? 

  Mitch Hancock: 
Holly and I have been involved in the farm now for about 13 years. We're a second-generation farm. We took over the farm and the dairy operation from Holly's dad. Holly was raised doing this and I was not. So, it's been a treat to learn and understand more about agriculture and be involved in agriculture. The last 13 years, the farm itself and the dairy itself has been in operation in our family since about 1994 under the name of Noo Sun Dairy. Right now, we milk about 3,200 cows. We have a total of about 7,000 cows out here in west of Corinne, Utah. And we farm about 2,500 acres on all flood irrigation, growing crops such as corn for silage, alfalfa for hag and dry baled hay, as well as tri for silage and some tri for seed. 

Joanna Guza: 
Can you share why it's called Noo Sun Dairy? 

Holly Hancock: 
So, my mom came up with the name. My dad came to this farm and started milking cows in 1982, and the farm was called Sunrise Dairy. And my dad worked here. He didn't own any of it. He bought a separate location that's about three miles away and he named it Sunset Dairy. So, he worked here and then had his own barn and his own herd. In 1993, he and the owner of Sunrise Dairy decided to partner. They took their two dairies, one sunset, one sunrise, and made the Noo Sun Dairy, and they spelled new like Moo. So, it's NOO and we get asked that all the time. Who came up with it? It is my mom. My mom came up with the name. 

Joanna Guza: 
Well, we're excited to be having Honor the Harvest there. You shared a little bit about the current size. Can you share more about your roles, Mitch and Holly, on the farm? 

Mitch Hancock: 
My role is more, I do a lot in the office. I wish I had more time available to spend outside, but I do a lot of animal management. Number management. We have three locations. We have a dairy we call Noo Sun, which is the home dairy. We have another dairy we call the Harper Dairy, and then the dairy that we'll be hosting USFRA at will be Sun Ray Dairy, all part of the Noo Sun Dairy Group.  

And my role entails anything from financial and animal management to health and protocols records employee. I have one guy that helps me with HR and I spend most of my time in the office.  I'm on the board for the Bear River Canal Company, which is our irrigation company. We also run a few other businesses out of the office here. And so, I tend to spend, allocate my time proportionately over the other businesses. And the more I try to get outside, the harder it becomes <laugh>. 

Joanna Guza: 
Right. And Holly, what's your role on the farm? 

Holly Hancock: 
I don't know if there's a title, but somebody who has to manage all the bills and the paying the bills. So that's what I do. I do the payroll. We have about 70 employees, so I do all the payroll, all the payroll reporting. I do all the banking reconciliations, all the accounts payable, all the accounts receivable. We sit about 10 feet apart from each other all day long in the office running this together. 

Joanna Guza: 
It's definitely a family business. And we'll get more into your team of employees because we know that it's a team effort. I mean, you both are very modest people that we know that you're spending so much time in the office, but you are also coordinating, you know, all of your employees and making sure that the farm is running successful. But before we get to that, where does your milk get shipped and what is it made into?   

Mitch Hancock: 
So, we have the three different sites, each ship as their own dairy, at Noo Sun Dairy here where we're at, at the main office ships to Gossner Foods in Logan. The Harper Dairy also goes to Gossner Foods over in Logan. It's about 35 miles over the hill. Most of that is made into Swiss cheese or shelf stable milk. Gossner ships a lot of shelf stable milk over seas to the military, things like that. They also process Swiss cheese for other brands, other branding names and then our Sun Ray Dairy where we'll host Honor the Harvest ships to Danone down in Salt Lake. And again, about 50 miles south of us made into largely yogurt. 

Joanna Guza: 
My curiosity, you're shipping to three different areas and different products. Your milk check must look different amongst those different areas because of those different commodities where cheese, you know, wants higher components. Can you speak to that a little bit?  

Mitch Hancock: 
Sure.  In Utah we are paid based on a class three market. We also have a mixed herd, so that adds another level of component. We farm jerseys as well as Holsteins. We have about 2,700 Holsteins and about 400 - 500 jerseys at the moment. So that adds some complexity to the milk checks. And then we dry off all our animals or our animals that are not milking and preparing to have a calf. They come to one location where they're taken care of by a training team that is trained specific for their needs. And then they have a calf and they're introduced back into what we call a fresh pan. And then they're hauled out to one of the other dairies to be milked. So, we have a lot of moving parts and a lot of, we do the best we can to manage consistency and manage numbers for the animal welfare part of it. But yeah, our milk checks are a little unique and they're different across the three dairies and they're definitely different across the companies that we send to. But we have very good relationships and hope to have long-term relationships with both companies. 

Joanna Guza: 
Right. We know that's key. The, the Wisconsin girl in me, a lot of our milk is made into cheese. So, we're in that class three category. So unique to hear that perspective. Now let's talk about your team of employees. Can you share more about how many people you employ and some of the key things that you do with your employees? 

 Mitch Hancock: 
We're set up to operate as three different independent dairies. So, each dairy has its own milking crew for day shift, its own milking crew for night shift. And then each of the dairies has what we call a middle manager and that middle manager's in charge of the milking crew as well as breeding in summation and vet checks for each of those dairies. And then between relief employees for days off, we offer our employees paid vacation as part of their salary package. So, between paid vacation, between regular vacation and days off and the middle management, we employ about 44 employees milking cows daily. We raise our own heifers and replacement animals and we have a crew of about seven or eight total that manage replacement animals from day old calves up to calving up to their fresh period. And then that group of middle managers that is over the milking crew has a manager that they answer to below. 

Just below me, we have four of those managed that help through different aspects of the different businesses. One that runs the farm side of the business, one that runs the heifer raising side of the business, one that helps run animal management, easy way, easy feed and data logging for all of the animals, and considering they're all at three different sites they're all linked to one manageable site. And then I have one manager that gets to do everything I don't want to do and you'll meet him at a later date, but he is our HR, and he's our facility maintenance. We have rental homes that we help our employees live in. He helps me maintain and manage all of that. 

Joanna Guza: 
Right. Because your team is critical to your success. 

Mitch Hancock: 
Very much. 

Joanna Guza: 
I know I've heard a lot of Wisconsin dairy farmers say that same message. They wouldn't be able to do it without their strong team of employees. But then on your end, being the owners, you have a lot of organization that you are doing to keep everyone flowing, everyone happy, everyone well-trained. There's so much that goes into that. And I'm excited for our attendees at Honor the Harvest to experience that and see that firsthand. Let's talk about some of the technology that you have on the farm. Can you share what different technology you utilize on the farm? 

Mitch Hancock: 
We try to be open-minded for technology that helps labor savings on milking animals, and manure separation, manure management, as well as water management in our flood irrigation system. Some of the technologies that are current, ongoing and being monitored closely are irrigation techniques, water measuring devices, automated valve systems that create a surge irrigation method of farming, hoping to save water, and hoping to conserve water. We have help from other entities in the state that are pushing what's called the Water Optimization Program right now, making it possible for farmers to pipe open ditches and open irrigation systems. One of the points that we like to make about that technology in that improved irrigation system, I have about 22 miles of open ditch and on certain open ditches, if we are waiting for water to get to the end, I have a 45 minute wait for water to show up before I can begin irrigating. 

When we pipe and do these automations and measuring devices on these ditches, my wait turns into about 45 seconds versus 45 minutes. And everything in between is water conserved for our use on our acres or water that stays in the piggy bank that we would have with the irrigation company that delivers our water to our farm. And so, we work a lot with that type of automation. Right now, we are hopeful that in the very near future, we're gonna start the process to be building a new rotary parlor and milk cows out of a new rotary partner. And there will be automation that will be implemented in milking procedures, pre dip, post dip, as well as some manure management technology here at this dairy. We do have that technology in other dairies, but at this dairy it'll be new. So it's kind of a fingers in all pots doing the best we can to be efficient and operate efficiently and operate with what we feel is a long-term vision of our team members, the success of our team members, the success of our company, the longevity of our name, and we feel like we all take a part in doing that. 

Joanna Guza: 
Right. And you're thinking about the next generation. I mean, I know you both have children, so you're thinking about who might wanna come back to the farm and be a part of the farm. And when you're implementing these new technologies and thinking about the land and how you're caring for your animals and your employees, that just makes you successful for the next generation. Well, your farm has done an exceptional job engaging consumers on agriculture, and we appreciate you sharing your time with us today and at Honor the Harvest in September. Can you tell us about the variety of groups you've hosted and share what you've learned from each group? 

Holly Hancock: 
One of our common groups that comes out are field trips, especially one certain school here. They like to bring out the kids once a year. And I think about a hundred kids come, we had 150 last week, 150, yes. And the kids enjoy it. They have fun. They love feeding the baby cows the most. We make sure that there's bottles formed to bottle feed the babies, and they love that. But I always stand back as Mitch gives the tour and talk to the parents. And I'm always surprised the parents have such great questions and I think they're more engaged in what's going on even than the kids are. And we feel like it's a good way, even for the parents to see and understand the life of a dairy farm and where their food comes from. That's one of our, one of my favorites that come.   

Mitch Hancock: 
And I think it's a very good experience not only for the young kids who have no experience, but for the older parents who are providing those products in their refrigerators to their children and to get to know us. I think that creates us a unique bond that they can tie that desire, that want, that need of what's in the refrigerator to the person who's creating it for them. And in our case, a lot of that's very local. You know, our kids at school lunch, drink shelf, stable milk or take animals to school and we can say, yes, this is our contribution to the food chain, to the supply chain. And this is how it's made from the very beginning to the very end. This is how it's made and this is the nutrition that goes into it. We spend a lot of time with working with Dairy West and hosting groups of nutrition and dietetics from University of Utah and Southern Utah University. 

We had Utah Valley University, we've had Utah State University. We have one coming up in May with SUU. And there's, I believe there's supposed to be 40 people coming that are the professors that are coming to see what we do and how the nutrition affects the push for healthy you healthy me healthy products on our shelves. And then we had the privilege of hosting the U.S. speed skating team about a year ago, a year and a half ago. Yeah and had a wonderful experience. And I think one of the main things that we take home from that is the opportunity to share just little bits and pieces that make a connection to people who really have no idea. And that it's almost like you can see, you know, the light turn on and the relationships start to form and then that bond tends to last. And we could see them years down the road and we see parents that come from three years ago that say, we had such a wonderful experience, we couldn't wait for this one. Our older kids, that's all they want to do is talk about their experience. We're excited for our younger kids to be able to see the same thing. And that's been a very heartwarming opportunity for us to be involved with, with representing agriculture to these people. 

Joanna Guza: 
Thank you for taking the time. I mean, you're managing a farm, you're managing your family, and then you're opening the doors for more people to come in and experience that. So, thank you for all that you're doing to share that message with consumers. Couple more questions as we wrap up this episode of Farm Food Facts. What is the best advice you've received that's made your farm successful? 

Mitch Hancock: 
Well, I come from an engineering background and a general contractor. So when people tell me you have to be open-minded, I feel that that's my forte. I never had the experience of doing things the way Dad always did things in a very unfortunate matter. You know, Holly and I are the owners of the business. We had been partners with her parents and we lost her dad a few years ago. And so, for the two of us, it's been a learning experience on our own for many years, which allows us to be open-minded to things that could potentially help the business. And I think we do a good job of balancing what is business versus what is due to habitual nature.  

Joanna Guza: 
And Holly, from your perspective, any advice that's helped bring your farm success? 

Mitch Hancock: 
She puts up with me, <laugh>. 

Holly Hancock: 
They always say that if you're married, you shouldn't work together. And we have been defying that advice. So who knows? We don't. We work 10 feet apart from each other and it's worked out fine so far. Right? All day long, every day since 2013, we've sat in the same office space and done what we've done every day. 

Joanna Guza: 
I think the person that said that saying didn't know a lot about agriculture because 95% of all farms in the United States are family owned and operated. So, it’s not that uncommon that you are working close with your spouse and, you know, you’re both bring unique aspects to the farm. Now, two questions. What future goals do you have for the farm? 

Mitch Hancock: 
One of my goals is to ensure that what we are doing today is left better than the way we found it. And our focus currently is on water conservation. But I think that intel's soil health, soil quality and water quality and everything that ties into the resources that God gives us to work the ground. Another one of mine is to continue to emphasize and continue to work towards the benefit of a healthy cow, the benefit of a healthy product, the benefit of healthy inputs, the quality, the holistic quality of milk in, and the benefit of that quality of milk through the entire food chain. I think dairymen in general know how important that is and do everything they can do to make that a priority. And I wanna continue that. 

Holly Hancock: 
I think over the next couple years, we want to make sure that we are advocating for dairy farms and telling people our story. We have things to share here too, to help educate those who live around us about what goes on, on farms, what goes on to help make the food that they eat. And so we have taken active steps in making sure we're where our places where we can share our story. Another reason we're happy to host the Honor the Harvest, so that we have a chance to share on a broader scale. 

Joanna Guza: 
Well, let's wrap up this interview with the last question. What are you most looking forward to at Honor the Harvest? 

Holly Hancock: 
I'm excited to meet other people. I think it's exciting to host, to feel like you're welcoming people to something that is near and dear to us. This is where I grew up. This is where we're raising our family. I'm excited to share. 

Mitch Hancock: 
I look forward to networking both for people to whom we can showcase our operation, but also people who we can showcase agriculture in general. And I think a lot of people outside of Utah do not perceive Utah as a big agriculture populace. We wanna prove that we are and that we're doing our due diligence and agriculture as a whole is very alive, and we want to keep it alive and well for the future generations in Utah. 

Joanna Guza: 
USFRA's Honor the Harvest is September 10th through the 12th at Noo Sun Dairy located just outside of Salt Lake City, Utah. If you are interested in showcasing your brand to thought leaders across the food and agriculture value chain, then you can become an Honor the Harvest sponsor. You can learn more about that in the description of this podcast. We appreciate your time. If you enjoyed listening to our podcast, please subscribe and rate us on your favorite podcast app. Tune in again. I'm Joanna Guza for Farm Food Facts.