Gene W. Hiibner Oral History Interview

Oral history interview by Mary Heers with Gene W. Hiibner. Topics include: Growing up on a Holstein dairy farm in Mendon, Utah; Going into business with a friend from college; A change to short horn cows in the mid 1980s because he thought they were pretty; Always open grazing cows instead of keeping them in a corral; A switch in vet care from antibiotics to natural remedies; Becoming certified organic in 2007 and sending milk mostly to a co-op in Idaho; Certified organic requirements such as every cow having to be named and registered; Drying off the cows for two months each year; Serving a mission in Italy and returning nearly every January; The amount of time it takes to milk his small herd each day; Keeping bulls for breeding purposes; Precautions taken to prevent the spread of diseases from one dairy to another; Changes from hand-milking to machine milking; Different types of grasses for cows to feed on; His dislike of pesticides; His small herd of pedigree shorthorn cows being the largest in the U.S. and his hopes for the farm after he retires.

Mr. Gene Hiibner has an organic dairy farm in Mendon, Utah. He lives on his family's farm, where he grew up. His small herd consists of milk short horn cows. He is part of the Organic Valley co-op, and talks about organic milk, versus conventional milk.