Farmers
About Mary Faber
48 HOURS
My family spends long hours working on the farm. Everyone is committed to providing you with a safe, high-quality product. As dairy farmers, we are unique because our product will always be fresh and local. Fluid milk arrives at a store within 48 hours of leaving our farm.
We are committed to quality, so we invest in tools that allow us to better care for our cows and our land. We believe in using resources wisely and planning for the future so our children will be able to live off this land. Milk from our farm ends up in Prairie Farms milk bottles you can buy at your local grocery store.
AWARD-WINNING WASTE
Our cows make the best natural source of fertilizer daily, and we have to scoop it up. Yes, we’re talking about cow manure. Manure can improve the nutrient and water-holding quality of soil, plus it’s renewable, so we asked experts to build a system for our dairy to reuse this abundant resource. Our efforts resulted in a conservation award for taking the extra step to recycle waste from our cows.
A HANDFUL OF COWS
Mackinson Dairy Farm is a dairy and grain farm founded over 150 years ago by my great-grandfather. It was started with a handful of cows and 161 acres of land. As farming practices have changed and technology has allowed us to work the land more efficiently, the farm grew. Today it consists of:
- About 165 milking cows
- 140 first-year mother cows and calves
- More than 1,500 acres of farmland, growing corn, soybeans, wheat and alfalfa that is used as cattle feed; excess crops are marketed through various grain storage facilities
OUR STORY TO TELL
The farm is owned by my parents, Donald and Rita; uncle, Roy; and brother, Matt. Without a doubt, farming is more than a livelihood for these four. Each has a true passion for the land and the cows. When I wake up for work, I don’t walk out to the barns for the day. I drive into town to help farmers at Graymont Cooperative Association. I still help on the farm, but my work is to share our farm story and have conversations with consumers about where their food comes from. My husband, Jesse, teaches the next generation of farmers as an agriculture teacher and FFA advisor for Pontiac Township High School.
