MEet Melissa Hildebrand Reed
She’s one of seven family members working on the family dairy farm near Junction City, KS. She earned her degree in agricultural communications from Kansas State University. Melissa and her husband Brett have two young sons and reside near Abilene, KS.
Melissa works with her father, brother, aunt, uncle and cousins. Hildebrand Farms Dairy raises 150 dairy cows, bottling and selling the milk to more than 90 grocery stores across the state and through their on-site retail store. The family hosts events and farm tours that allow consumers to see how their milk goes from the farm to the bottle and then to their local grocery store.
“Once we began selling our product directly to consumers we instantly became educators,” Melissa says. “I receive e-mails daily from customers wanting to know information about how their food is produced and processed. We welcome the discussion and enjoy sharing what we do.”
Melissa enjoys baking, cooking and reading in her spare time. She joined the CommonGround™ Kansas team in 2015 and is excited to share how her family raises dairy cows and distributes milk across the region.
Expertise: Local foods, dairy, communications and education
Ag Connections: Midwest Dairy Association Ambassador, member of the American Farm Bureau Federation, Chapman FFA Alumni Secretary