Trailside Holsteins

For Margaret Johnson, dairy farming was never simply the path laid out in front of her. It was a choice. 

She grew up on a small, multigenerational dairy farm where her family milked 27 cows, but she expected her career would take her elsewhere. She went to college, studied agricultural communications, completed an internship and began imagining a life off the farm. 

Then she realized something: she missed farming. 

Throughout college, Margaret had also worked on a much larger dairy, an experience she loved. She began to see production agriculture differently—as a place where she could build a career and a life. 

“I think one of the things I wish people understood more is that dairy farmers have educations, and many of us had other options and opportunities,” Margaret says. “We chose to be dairy farmers.” 

Today, Margaret farms alongside her husband, Michael, and father-in-law, Jon, on their family dairy in southeast Minnesota. And the choices they make every day reflect a farm—and an industry—that is continually looking ahead. 

Moving Forward With Purpose 

Ask Margaret what makes a dairy farm modern, and she doesn’t point to any single piece of equipment or technology. 

“I think modern dairy farming is constantly embracing change and moving forward with a purpose,” she says. 

“Technology has been able to give us peace of mind knowing that every individual cow has essentially a way to communicate with us,” Margaret says. 

But technology is only part of the expertise behind the farm. Margaret holds a master’s degree in agronomy. The family also works closely with veterinarians, nutritionists and other specialists, drawing on a team of experts to continually evaluate how they care for their cows, manage their land and operate the business. 

“We’re changing all the time,” Margaret says. “We work with a lot of different industry professionals that help us identify those changes that maybe we can try or make to constantly be making us better at what we’re doing.” 

Everything Comes Full Circle 

That same mindset extends to the land. 

The farm sits in an area of southeast Minnesota known for karst topography, where sinkholes and underground geology can create direct connections to groundwater. It is an environment that has made careful land management especially important to the family.

Margaret credits her father-in-law, who started the farm in 1978, with establishing that mindset long before terms like sustainability became commonplace.

Learning Through the Work  

Perhaps nowhere is that more visible to Margaret than in her own family. 

She and Michael are raising their children on the farm, and as they’ve gotten older, Margaret has watched each begin to develop a different relationship with the animals and the work. 

Their oldest son, Sawyer, already knows the herd remarkably well—including individual cows, their health and their lineage—and has gradually taken on responsibilities that once belonged to Margaret. The younger children have chores of their own, too, learning that being part of a farm means other living things depend on you. 

“Raising my kids on our farm means everything to me,” Margaret says. “It’s having a different level of responsibility that they wouldn’t otherwise have.” 

There is no assumption that the children will someday become dairy farmers. Margaret knows firsthand that choosing a career is personal. But she hopes dairy will remain a place where the next generation can choose to build a future if they want one. 

 “In 20 years, my kids will be young adults,” she says. “If they want to be a part of the dairy community, then I hope there’s a place for them.” 

 That future is already part of the family’s thinking. Margaret and Michael are navigating succession planning while simultaneously considering what the farm could become for the generation behind them. To Margaret, transition isn’t a single event. It is part of farming itself. 

Change is constant. So is the responsibility to leave something worth carrying forward. 

When people see the images of her family and farm, Margaret hopes two things come through clearly. 

“I want them to see commitment,” she says. “I want them to see family.” 

Trailside 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.