Dakota Finch's Journey: Raw Milk, Fall Dairying & eShepherd (217)
By Grazing Grass
TL;DR: A former Air Force serviceman pivoted to organic grass-fed dairying, direct-marketing raw milk and other farm products.
- Transitioned from military to organic grass-fed dairy farming.
- Direct markets raw milk, beef, pork, chicken, and eggs.
- Navigates challenges of marginal land and direct sales.
- Implemented seasonal dairying and adaptive rotational grazing.
- Uses technology like the Gallagher eShepherd for herd management.
Why it matters: This case study illustrates the opportunities and challenges of starting a diversified organic farm from scratch, highlighting adaptable strategies for direct-to-consumer sales and animal husbandry.
Do this next: Explore the potential for seasonal dairying in your region to match market demands.
Recommended for: Aspiring organic dairy farmers, diversified livestock producers, and those interested in direct-to-consumer farm models.
Dakota Finch didn't grow up planning to be an organic grass-fed dairy farmer. He grew up on his grandfather's conventional dairy in upstate New York, left for the Air Force, started researching nutrition for his family, and found himself reading about the organic dairy market on a computer in Korea during downtime. That curiosity eventually led him back to farming — on his own terms. In this episode, Dakota shares how he went from a six-year Air Force career to launching Finch Family Farm in 2017, milking 40–50 grass-fed organic cows in central New York, and recently opening a farm retail store selling raw milk, beef, pork, chicken, and eggs.He's honest about where things are working and where they're not — from the farrowing struggles with his son's pig operation, to the challenge of making quality hay on marginal ground nobody else wanted, to the marketing learning curve that comes with selling direct. This is a practitioner's episode: real questions, real tensions, no pretending it's all figured out.What we cover:• How Dakota got his start through an internship on a grass-fed organic dairy and the relationship that made his first herd purchase possible• Fall seasonal vs. spring seasonal dairying — and why his milk market actually pays a premium for winter milk• The 10-and-7 milking schedule he tried to protect time for coaching his kids' sports teams• Balage, native grasses, and the ongoing question of whether to make his own hay or buy it• Breeding decisions: Jersey AI, Ayrshire bulls, the Black Angus that timed out perfectly with the calf market, and why he's now using AAA mating• Opening a farm retail store with Barn2Door and a small business grant — and why raw milk is the lead product that brings customers to the farm• His son's pig operation (currently a train wreck, honestly) and the real math on whether farrowing-to-finish pencils out• First year with 100 meat birds and 100 egg layers — lessons learned, losses included• The Gallagher eShepherd virtual fen