Humans of Agriculture- Ryan's Story.

"2003 was a year that changed a lot for me, my family and friends. My best friend's mom was diagnosed with leukemia after having her third child. Over the next several months I watched helplessly as she fought her way to the shocking end, and as we all stood by her family in that trying time, the value I placed on time with family grew exponentially.

After that experience and without a second thought my dad and I jumped at the chance to work together on our dairy farm. Just as I was getting my feet wet in the dairy business, and after months of my dad "not feeling quite right" we shoved him in front of a doctor. That's when we found out he had a heart attack three months earlier. His symptoms were showing how much his body was suffering. Boom, that is reality like no other. After several months of very being cautious and careful he made a flawless recovery.

During his recovery I discovered what time with him meant to me and my goals in life. Today on our farm it seems that being efficient comes second to doing things together. After having such a close to home scare, and totally restructuring what is important, we value our time more now. That is what makes dairy farming worth the work and time, doing it with my family and spending the time together."

Ryan is the farmer behind your food. Think of Ryan when you buy a Starbucks Latte. The milk from his farm goes to Starbucks.

You can follow Ryan and his family on Facebook.

Read more #HumansofAgriculture stories HERE.