What Veterans Bring to Dairy Farming: Leadership, Service, and a Different Perspective on Hard Work
There’s a unique connection between military service and dairy farming.
Both demand discipline. Both require resilience. And both ask people to commit to something bigger than themselves.
That’s something Matt Taber and Kelsey DeBoer understand firsthand.
In their conversation on the Uplevel Dairy Podcast, Matt and Kelsey reflected on how military service continues to shape the way they lead, work, and show up within the dairy industry today. And while their paths into dairy looked different, both shared how service created a perspective that still influences every part of their lives.
Military Service Changes How You Approach Leadership
One thing both Matt and Kelsey talked about was how deeply military culture shaped the way they lead teams and handle challenges.
In the military, success depends on communication, trust, and understanding how to work alongside people from completely different backgrounds. Those same skills translate directly into dairy farming and agribusiness, where strong teams are essential to keeping operations moving forward.
For Matt, who now co-owns Donnelley Farms, leadership today still looks a lot like it did during his time in the Marines: stay calm under pressure, lead by example, and never ask someone to do something you wouldn’t do yourself.
Kelsey shared similar lessons from his time in the Army Reserves, especially around adaptability and perspective. Working through difficult situations during deployment taught him how quickly priorities can shift—and how important it is to stay grounded during stressful moments.
Both say those experiences continue shaping how they approach work inside the dairy industry today.
Dairy Farming and Military Service Share Similar Values
Another thing that stood out in the conversation was how naturally military values align with agriculture.
Neither career path is easy. Neither gets much recognition from the outside world. And both require people willing to sacrifice comfort for responsibility.
Matt admitted there was a time he thought he’d never come back to farming. But after serving in the military, returning to dairy gave him a renewed sense of purpose and appreciation for the lifestyle.
There’s something deeply meaningful, he explained, about waking up every day knowing your work directly contributes to feeding people and caring for animals.
For Kelsey, who works with Zoetis, dairy became a place where he could continue serving others—just in a different way. That shared mindset of service is something both veterans say connects naturally to agriculture.
Perspective Changes Everything
One of the most powerful parts of the conversation was hearing how military experiences changed their perspective on hardship. Both Matt and Kelsey reflected on seeing different parts of the world and realizing how much gratitude they carry for opportunities in agriculture and everyday life back home.
That perspective often changes how people approach challenges. Hard days still happen in dairy. Markets fluctuate. Long hours pile up. Stress builds. But both veterans shared that military service taught them resilience and helped them recognize that difficult seasons are temporary—and manageable when approached with the right mindset.
That perspective also influences how they support others around them, whether it’s coworkers, employees, producers, or fellow veterans.
Service Doesn’t End After the Military
A major part of the episode focused on the partnership between Zoetis and Folds of Honor through the Patriots Pledge initiative. For Matt and Kelsey, supporting military families isn’t just a campaign—it’s deeply personal.
Both emphasized that service doesn’t stop once someone leaves the military. It simply evolves into different forms: supporting communities, mentoring others, building teams, and helping families who continue carrying the weight of sacrifice.
That commitment to serving others continues to shape both of their careers inside the dairy industry.
The Dairy Industry Needs More Leaders Like This
One thing this conversation highlights clearly is how valuable veterans are within agriculture.
The dairy industry needs people who:
Stay steady during pressure
Lead with humility
Communicate clearly
Understand teamwork
Keep showing up even when things get hard
Those qualities matter on farms just as much as they do in military service.
And both Matt and Kelsey are reminders that leadership often comes from lived experience—not just titles.
Matt Taber and Kelsey Debore bring a unique perspective to the dairy industry—one shaped by service, resilience, and a commitment to something bigger than themselves. Their stories are a reminder that dairy farming is more than a job.
It’s a mission rooted in discipline, teamwork, and purpose. And the leadership lessons veterans bring into agriculture continue making the dairy community stronger because of it.
To hear the complete discussion, stream now on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or watch the full conversation on YouTube.
