Emily Schaapman joins national effort to show modern dairy farming in Georgia

Emily Schaapman’s Wilcox County, Georgia, dairy farm is part of a new national campaign aimed at showing how today’s dairy farms operate as family-run businesses powered by data, technology and animal care. The project launches Oct. 12 on National Farmer’s Day and highlights women in dairy during the UN’s International Year of the Woman Farmer.

Why it matters: - Portraits of Modern Dairy is built to show consumers a more accurate picture of U.S. dairy farming. - The campaign spotlights farmers as business operators, animal caretakers and resource managers, not just as food producers. - The effort could help close the gap between what most people think a dairy farm looks like and how modern farms actually run.

What happened: - Emily Schaapman is opening Schaapman Holsteins in Wilcox County, Georgia, to be featured in Portraits of Modern Dairy. - The national initiative launches on Oct. 12, National Farmer’s Day, during the UN’s International Year of the Woman Farmer. - The project features seven women across six U.S. dairy farms. - The campaign uses photography, film and storytelling to present Emily Schaapman as a business leader, problem-solver, innovator and animal caretaker.

The details: - Schaapman Holsteins started with about 80 cows in 1995 and has grown to approximately 1,200 milking cows. - Emily Schaapman works on the farm alongside her husband, Ruben, and their young son, Teddy. - The family operation also includes Monica, who focuses on herd health. - Aileen cares for calves. - Thomas handles farm maintenance. - Harry oversees daily operations. - Ruben works as a dairy nutritionist. - Emily helps across the farm and uses storytelling to explain the work to a wider audience. - The family makes daily decisions that balance business judgment, data, instinct, innovation, tradition, growth and animal care. - The complete stories, photography and video are available on USDairy.com/Portraits. - A curated selection of images is available free through Unsplash. - A portrait and story for Emily Schaapman are available through the campaign materials. - The Dairy Alliance also says it works throughout the year with farmers across the Southeast to promote real dairy milk and the people who produce it.

Between the lines: - The campaign is also a response to how dairy farming is often pictured online and in popular media. - Putting women and family operations at the center reflects a broader effort to show who is actually running many farms today. - The release leans on visual storytelling because images may be the fastest way to reset public assumptions.

What's next: - Portraits of Modern Dairy will continue distributing stories and visuals from the featured farms. - The Dairy Alliance will keep promoting dairy farms and dairy foods across its eight-state Southeast footprint. - Journalists, educators and content creators can use the campaign’s free image library to help broaden public understanding of dairy farming.

The bottom line: - The Schaapman farm is being used to show that modern dairy is a family business shaped by management, technology and daily decision-making, not just milk production.