John and Kris Miller Family
John and Kris started out by renting a farm north of Plainview in 1991, milking 30 cows. They lived in Theilman at the time, so John drove 10 miles to milk cows and farm every day. Kris worked full-time at the Mayo Clinic and worked on the farm in the evenings and on the weekends.
The Millers moved to their current location east of Plainview in 1995, renting their 240-acre dairy farm from Don and Jean Schultz of St. Charles, milking about 70 cows. Don and Jean later sold the farm to the Millers on a contract for deed in 2000.
John and Kris are currently milking 300+ cows and cropping about 700 acres. Kris now works from home for Mayo Clinic. They grow corn, alfalfa, and a few acres of canning crops. Their oldest son, Tom, and his wife Bailey are farming with John and Kris.
John and Kris are the farm’s owners. Tom and Bailey, who is a teacher in Elgin, are buying into the operation. John and Kris’s daughter, Haley, and her husband Jake, work at Mayo Clinic and KBS, and help around the farm when they can. The Millers’ son Joe works at Bruening Rock Products and helps on the farm when he can, and son Nick works at Mavo Systems and assists when available.
John and Kris were involved in 4-H when their kids were in school. At the time, they were family leaders for a few years. The Millers hosted farm tours and offered different classes for the kids to learn about caring for their animals and getting them ready for the fair. In 2012, the Millers were recognized as outstanding conservationists by the Minnesota Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts.