Country roads don’t just take people home. For National Farmers field representatives, the hills, twists and straightaways of gravel roads and rural highways take them to farms that rely on National Farmers for marketing and milk handling. It’s true for Katlin Miller, a New York dairy service representative since 2015.
With the addition of more staff in New York, Miller, who services about 115 producers, has cut her weekly mileage on those country roads to about 450 weekly. She helps producers with milk quality, paperwork concerns to meet regulations and answers questions as they arise.
“I consider each of my farmers a part of my team,” Miller said. “If they’re doing well, I’m doing well, and learning goes two ways. Almost all of our farms are family farms. That’s a nice environment.”
In the Northeast, National Farmers dairy representatives are also certified state milk inspectors. Miller and her counterparts also sometimes work with dairy installers, chemical dealers and other ag professionals, and with milk haulers, regularly. “I consider them all part of the team,” Miller said.
“I get to work with a wide variety of farmers and very different farms,” Miller said. “I’m really blessed to work with really great team members.” Miller was raised on a small, conventional dairy. She earned an associate degree from State University of New York-Morrisville, worked for Chobani in accounts payable, then came to National Farmers.
Katlin and her husband, Jeff, own a small, registered and commercial Angus beef herd and raise dairy replacements. Katlin’s newest ag hobby is a sheep flock, dorpers. Katlin saw them at a National Farmers producer’s operation, liked them, purchased some and her new ag pastime was launched.
The Millers also help Katlin’s parents on their farm and show their dairy cattle with them in local events in New York. They treasure time with family and friends, and watching their two nieces grow, being raised into the next generation of farmers.
