Schaapman Holsteins

Sometimes finding where you belong means taking a few unexpected turns along the way. 

Emily Schaapman grew up around dairy in Pennsylvania, raising show heifers and participating in 4-H and Future Farmers of America before studying Agricultural Business Management at Penn State University. Dairy was familiar. But finding her own place within the industry took time. 

After graduating, Emily moved to Georgia, where her now-husband, Ruben, grew up on his family’s dairy. The couple later moved to Florida and worked around different dairy farms. It was there that Emily found herself searching for a career that combined the things she cared about most. 

“I felt a little lost in what I was trying to do,” she remembers. 

That uncertainty eventually led her to create something of her own. 

Finding Her Voice 

In 2018, Emily launched Dairy Girl Fitness as an Instagram page combining two passions: agriculture and health and wellness. 

She wanted to reach beyond the dairy community and show people how dairy and other animal-sourced foods could fit into a healthy lifestyle. But as the platform grew, so did its purpose. 

Dairy Girl Fitness evolved into a community focused on helping women in dairy and agriculture prioritize their own health while they spend their days caring for animals, families and farms. Emily has since helped hundreds of women through fitness and nutrition coaching. 

“We do a lot to help take care of these animals to feed the world,” she says. “But the women need to make sure they’re taking care of themselves as well.”

Returning to Georgia and to Family 

In 2025, another turn brought Emily and Ruben back to Schaapman Holsteins in Georgia, the farm Ruben’s parents, Harry and Ailene, started after immigrating from Holland. 

What began with about 80 cows in 1995 has grown to approximately 1,200 milking cows today. Just as important, the next generation has returned to become part of the operation. 

Emily calls it a “family powerhouse.” And everyone has a role to play.  

Her sister-in-law, Monica, focuses on herd health, while her mother-in-law, Ailene, cares for calves. Her brother-in-law, Thomas, focuses on farm maintenance, and her father-in-law, Harry, oversees daily operations. Emily’s husband, Ruben, brings his expertise as a dairy nutritionist, while Emily pitches in across the farm and uses her storytelling skills to help others see the bigger picture of what happens there every day. 

On a dairy of this size, those roles require different kinds of expertise. Herd health means watching for any behavioral, physical or physiological changes in the cows. Calf care lays the foundation for the next generation of the herd. Nutrition requires balancing feed to support the health and productivity of the animals. The farm may be a family business, but it also runs on specialized knowledge. 

Emily and Ruben are raising their young son, Teddy, there too. 

For Emily, returning has provided a new appreciation for something she grew up around but didn't always recognize as extraordinary. 

“When you take a step back, you realize how incredible it is to get to be a part of feeding the world,” she says. 

Strength in the Women Around Her 

Returning to Georgia has also surrounded Emily with women whose example inspires her. 

Dairy farming brings long days, difficult decisions and sacrifices. Having women nearby who understand those realities, and who are also family, has made a difference. 

Emily can have the hard conversations with Monica and Ailene, then sit down with them for dinner at the end of the day. 

“I know I’m very lucky to have family surrounding me, and to be able to have other strong women to look up to,” she says.

Today, the pieces of Emily's journey that once seemed disconnected have come together. She's raising Teddy on a farm where he can walk through the barns and watch crops being harvested. She's surrounded by women whose work and experience she admires. And the business she built while searching for her own path now gives her another way to connect people with agriculture. 

The work isn't easy. Dairy farming means early mornings, late nights, missed events and a responsibility to animals that doesn't stop. But that's part of what makes Emily grateful for the opportunity. 

“We get to do this with our family,” she says. “That’s also not something that many people get to do.” 

Looking back, even the detours make sense to Emily. Each one helped lead her back to dairy, and to a place that now feels distinctly her own. 

Schaapman Holsteins is one of six farms featured in Portraits of Modern Dairy, bringing the people, perspectives and daily realities behind today's dairy farms into public view.