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Father-daughter duo Ron and Lilli Kreider say focusing on cow comfort, following sustainable practices, trusting the next generation, and treating employees like family are the keys to success on their Pennsylvania farm.
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Courtesy of Kreider Farms
Meet the Kreiders
Ron’s grandparents, Noah and Mary Kreider, purchased the farm from Mary’s father, John B. Hershey (a cousin of chocolatier Milton Hershey), 90 years ago. Hersheys had been farming the land since 1717.
Kreider Farms started with 102 acres, a dozen dairy cows, and 200 chickens. Today, the 3,000-acre operation includes 1,875 dairy cows and 6 million laying hens. The business distributes milk and other beverages, eggs, and ice cream throughout the Northeast, including markets in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and New York City.
Ron chairs Kreider Farms, and Lilli is the herd manager. The farm employs 475 people, including several other members of the Kreider family. “One of our main goals is to keep employees around for many years,” Lilli said. “We just make it a great culture and environment to work in, so they’ll want to stay with us and help our company grow.”
Sustainability practices include capturing solar energy with panels on top of the chicken houses, stream bank fencing, no-till, and cover crops. Manure from the dairy is separated, and solids are dehydrated with a fan system, composted, and used as bedding for the cows. Liquids go through a three-stage lagoon process, with circulators and aerators. “We’re always looking for new ways to enhance our manure for fertilizer,” Ron said.
In 2020, Kreider Farms became the first dairy farm east of the Mississippi to earn American Humane Certified dairy status from the American Humane Society. The farm’s cage-free egg operation, Noah’s Pride, has held the certification since 2016. To maintain that status, extensive annual audits are conducted to ensure more than 200 welfare standards are being met. “We were doing most things already, and our main goal was to keep those cows comfortable to have the most production,” Lilli said.
Courtesy of Kreider Farms
Episode Highlights
- Each of Ron’s children has a different role on the farm, from herd management, to marketing, and quality assurance.
- The farm uses aerobic lagoon systems, with circulators and aerators to reduce odor and improve manure breakdown.
- Lilli is monitoring mastitis rates and cow health to evaluate the effectiveness of different bedding materials and sanitation practices.
- Kreider Farms shares farm footage on social media to boost transparency and connect with consumers.
- Kreider Farms actively hires people with no farm background, emphasizing a willingness to learn over experience.
- The dairy team is exploring how artificial intelligence can improve animal welfare, productivity, and efficiency in the next phase of expansion.
- The Kreiders welcome visitors with daily farm tours, aiming for transparency to help combat misinformation and promote public trust in agriculture.
Ron Kreider, on opening the farm to public tours and sharing on social media
We feel obligated to do our part for agriculture and promoting agriculture and showing people what it really is like, because if we don’t define how we do it, someone else will.
— Ron Kreider, on opening the farm to public tours and sharing on social media
Courtesy of Kreider Farms
Links and Resources
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