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CapitalPress.com
Friday, June 3, 2022
Darilane Farms: Family
stays busy running dairy
By HEATHER SMITH THOMAS
For the Capital Press
ELK, Wash. — Richard
Ziehnert grew up near this
small town 30 miles north of
Spokane and married his high
school sweetheart, Darlene,
before attending Washing-
ton State University to study
engineering.
When they returned home,
the neighboring dairy was for
sale. He purchased it in 1971
for a $7,000 down payment
and had it paid off in 7 years
thanks to high milk prices and
low fuel prices.
When they took over the
farm, Richard and Darlene
and their two young children
suddenly had 50 cows with
no ear tags — just names
that only the previous farmer
knew.
The Darilane farm and
dairy grew. The family now
has a fully functioning robotic
dairy, milking 220 cows, and
farms more than 1,000 acres
of alfalfa and barley, which
are used in rations for the
cattle.
Richard and Darlene’s sec-
ond child, Lori Hanson, has
been a full-time farmer and
mom since the early 1990s,
coming back to the dairy after
exploring the world. She lived
in Washington, D.C., before
traveling to Australia, where
she worked on a beef opera-
tion and dairy farm.
After returning home, she
went to WSU to study animal
science but soon felt her time
was better spent learning from
her father.
Lori concentrated on mak-
ing sure the farm was oper-
ating at 100% and continues
to be the primary manager.
The dairy transitioned to Lely
robots (A5s) in June 2021.
Milk production has increased
by 20% and the robots enable
them to run the farm with
less labor and a more detailed
approach to each cow.
Darilane Farms
From left, Ashley Kenny, Lori Hanson, Evangeline Kenny,
Darlene Ziehnert, Richard Ziehnert and Garrett Hanson.
Lori is in charge of herd
health and the heifers. From
breeding to calving and daily
care, Lori has help from her
daughter, Ashley, and a vet-
erinarian and nutritionist who
visit the farm monthly.
Lori and her husband, Tra-
vis, have four kids, who also
helped on the farm growing
up. Ashley is now married to
Kevin Kenny.
Ashley says her mother is
amazing.
“She not only was run-
ning the farm as her kids
were growing up, but she
also home-schooled all four
of us. After we graduated and
became independent she took
on more of the farm manage-
ment, with a great passion for
farming,” Ashley said.
Another enterprise is
direct-marketing beef as
halves and wholes.
“We breed two-thirds of
our herd with Angus semen,”
Ashley said.
Richard and Darlene,
who are now in their 70s, are
still involved with the farm
and dairy. Ashley’s younger
brother, Garrett Hanson, grad-
uated in 2021 from South
Dakota State University with
a degree in agricultural sys-
tems and technology and
came back to the farm. He
runs the machinery and does
the farming.
“He is also a jack of all
trades and can do anything
that’s needed. We are really
seeing the transition of the
generations from grandpa
to my brother stepping into
what grandpa has been
doing for so many years,”
Ashley said.
Ashley enjoys working
with the cattle and reproduc-
tion. She does the artificial
insemination, ultrasounds and
record-keeping, which is now
done in conjunction with the
robots.
“Everyone in the family
has their place in the team but
also knows how to do every-
thing — since we are short-
staffed,” she said. “We are
far from any resources; there
are no dairy suppliers any-
where near. ...We’ve had to
be extremely self-reliant and
sustainable.”
Ashley works full-time on
the farm and dairy but also
has a 9-month-old daughter.
“Grandma (my daugh-
ter’s great-grandma) watches
her while I breed cows in
the morning and then I can
do most of my record-keep-
ing and other chores with my
daughter,” Ashley said.
Ashley’s husband, Kevin,
was in the Navy and is now
going to school pursuing a
degree in addiction studies.
He works at the local school
district as a substitute.
“We came back here so
that I could be a part of agri-
culture and our kids can
grow up on a farm instead of
in the city,” Ashley said.