Leaving a milk legacy

SLAYTON, Minn. — Anywhere Dave Schwartz goes, he carries bookmarks shaped like a glass of chocolate milk listing nine of the essential nutrients found in milk.

“Milk is the only product in the world that’s got all essential nutrients,” Schwartz said. “I even take them to church because a lot of people and their kids don’t drink milk, so they don’t realize what they’re missing. … That’s been my legacy.”

Throughout his career, Schwartz has served on his county, state, corporate and national dairy promotion boards. Being a promoter, producer and consumer blends smoothly for Schwartz. 

“I’ll be 83 in November, and I’ve never broken a bone,” Schwartz said. “One of the things that’s kept me healthy is having three glasses of milk a day.”

Up until Sept. 15, Schwartz milked 100 cows in a double-6 herringbone parlor at his farm near Slayton. He will continue to farm the 1,000 acres of corn and soybeans, but he decided to sell the cows.

“It was time,” Schwartz said. “A lot of things on the farm needed repairs, and the price for cows is good right now.”

Schwartz started farming full time with his dad in 1961, after he graduated from high school. At the time, the family was milking 40 cows in a stanchion barn. He slowly grew cow numbers and, in 1982, installed a parlor. Schwartz said the most he ever milked was 140, but the herd usually averaged around 100 cows. Schwartz’s wife, Kathy, would help outside of her full-time job as a teacher, and their daughters, Ruth and Karen, would help when they were younger and lived at home.

Tragedy struck in 2019, when the roof of the freestall barn collapsed and killed 36 cows. Schwartz said he thought about selling the cows then, but he was not ready to be done yet. 

“I liked cows,” Schwartz said. “Watching the calves being born and grow up to join the milking herd was always my favorite part of farming.” 

This spring, at the Midwest Dairy annual meeting in Kansas City, Missouri, Schwartz was recognized for his four decades of service to the Minnesota dairy board. To celebrate Schwartz’s legacy, chocolate milk bookmarks were dispersed to the audience in advance of his recognition so they could be waved as he made his acceptance speech. 

“That was kind of a fun thing because, for years, I wanted to nationally promote it (the nutrition in milk), and now they are,” Schwartz said. “A lot of people tease me that they are going to put one (a bookmark) on my gravestone.”

Although the bookmarks have been phased out, as milk has now been found to have 13 essential nutrients, Schwartz still does what he can to promote the product that he cares about.

“They discovered there’s more than nine now, but they haven’t got a bookmark for that,” he said.

Schwartz joined the Murray County American Dairy Association board in 1967. At the county level, he helped organize the malt stand at the county fair. For many years, the board requested a malt wagon from the state; sometimes they agreed to do so, sometimes they did not. The group was not deterred from serving their county.

“We decided to build a real nice building and have our own malt stand,” Schwartz said. “We have different flavors — chocolate, strawberry, salted caramel, black raspberry — and people just go nuts over them.”

While serving on the United Dairy Industry board within Dairy Management Inc. and Midwest Dairy, Schwartz traveled across the country, attending meetings and promoting dairy.

“Being able to meet and talk with people from all parts of the country, that was probably the most exciting (thing) about being on the dairy board,” Schwartz said. “The value of partnerships was probably the most valuable thing I learned in promotion … that, and having a product you could be proud of.”

During his time on the board, Schwartz saw firsthand popular dairy promotions, like the REAL seal, Got Milk? and Fuel Up to Play 60.

“I was on a research committee, and we had a professor do a study to explain what the nutrients were in soy milk and almond milk,” Schwartz said. “They don’t even hold a candle to real dairy.”

Of all the promotions, Schwartz’s favorite is Princess Kay of the Milky Way in his home state.

“The Princess Kay program has been a good thing,” Schwartz said. “I was chairman when we decided to have one judging for the Princess Kay in St. Cloud. They (dairy princesses) were all judged in one place by the same judges instead of 12 different regions.”

When Schwartz first joined the Minnesota state promotion board, it was the American Dairy Association of Minnesota. It later became the ADA/ Dairy Council of the Upper Midwest and is now Midwest Dairy, which promotes dairy across 10 states.

“I’ve been in dairy promotion all my life,” Schwartz said. “It’s easy to promote something that’s good for people. I will always promote dairy. It is just part of my life.”