Walt Cooley

“Louie” Bettencourt celebrates the opening of Idaho Milk Products’ new ice cream plant in Jerome during a ribbon-cutting ceremony in June. Bettencourt, along with Big Sky Dairies, Skyline Dairy and Crossbred Dairies, are partners in the new facility. Image by Walt Cooley. Idaho Milk Products opened a new milk processing plant in June with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and distinguished guests attending from around the state.

Home » [Webinar] Dairy Market Update June 2026: Protect What You've Built Before July 1 Dairy producers, don't leave money on the table starting July 1, 2026. Watch this webinar of Progressive Dairy Editor Walt Cooley and Katie Burgess and Kathleen Wolfley from Ever.Ag for a timely discussion on the forces shaping dairy margins in mid-2026.

Ohio native Skylar Gericke has found a home in Arizona at Triple G Dairy. Courtesy image. Dairyman Skylar Gericke had just one month’s notice that the dairy where he was working in Ohio had been sold and his role as assistant manager there was over. As an Ohio native, dairying in the Buckeye State is all he had ever known. He’d been working on dairies since he was in high school. Then in his mid-20s, he decided to head west with his wife and in-laws to Arizona.