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In this episode of Cow-Side Conversations, Kate (Kulp) Musselman of Kulp Family Dairy LLC in Blair County, Pennsyvlania gives an inside look at their 3,000-cow dairy operation. With three different sites and 6,500 acres between owned and rented land, Kate shares the herd management and employee management strategies that make up their dairy business and satellite operations. As they navigate an expansion that will take their herd from 3,000 cows to 4,500 cows in the next year, Kate describes some of the milestones, challenges, and goals for the expansion: labor efficiency, increased milk production, sustainable jobs, and more.

With an ownership team of five family members, Kate also shares how both generations bring something to the table and how they try to balance family and business. 2026 is the International Year of the Woman Farmer, and Kate describes the excitement she has for not only being a female in agriculture, but a member of the Pennsyvlania dairy industry.

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In this episode of Cow-Side Conversations, Alan Davis of Davis Farms LLC in Butler/Armstrong County, Pennsylvania describes his family’s decision to upgrade to robots versus building a new parlor for their 150-cow herd. He shares how the shift to robotics has helped them make data-driven breeding decisions and achieve earlier intervention when it comes to herd health. From managing heifer inventories to budgeting and balancing debt load, Alan opens up about navigating bottlenecks, learning that less is sometimes more, and using their data to make financially advantageous decisions.

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“Profitability is paramount, and we try to never be satisfied. What can we do to keep pushing production and maximize our facility?”

Speaking to their forward-thinking approach and eye for critical details, David Sattazahn, who farms with his brother Doug and wife Katie on Zahncroft Dairy in Berks County, Pennsylvania, reflects on some of the decisions that have led their family, farm and herd to where they are today in this episode of Cow-Side Conversations. After transitioning the family farm and then completing an expansion in 2017, today the Sattazahn family farms about 300 acres and milks 315 cows in a double-twelve parlor and sand-bedded, free stall set-up. David describes the decision-making process of moving to 3x a day milking, switching to custom drag lining and manure injection, hiring and mentoring a dairy herd manager apprentice, honing in on reproduction, creating energy corrected milk goals for the year, and more. To avoid complacency and drive profitability, David says they critique what they’re doing, work with experts they trust, try new ideas, evaluate the results, and remain open to switching course as the farm evolves.