Johan Koke was raised in Holland and dreamt of being a dairy farmer one day. He moved to the United States in 1991 with that dream in mind and ended up in Dublin, Texas. Just two years later, he started his own dairy operation. Today, Johan and his family milk around 1,700 cows on roughly 900 acres between their two farms, Blue Bonnet Dairy and Blue Jay Dairy. 

Between two dairies, there’s always work to do, and the Kokes do it as a family. Everyone has a chore, including all six children. Johan and his wife, Sonya, might be helping in the hospital barn, the boys may be cleaning water troughs, and the girls might be moving show heifers around. No matter what the chore is, taking care of their herd is their top priority. The Kokes believe in providing their cows with a balanced diet, creating healthy environments for them and having a nice, clean bed. As Johan likes to say, “If you take care of your cows, they’ll take care of you.” 

The Kokes may live in a small town in Texas, but they think globally. The family is committed to helping people understand how their dairy products are created and teaching about their nutritional benefits. “A lot of families nowadays are removed from the farm,” Johan says. “We want to make sure they still realize the farm-to-table process.”