Sandy Larson’s leadership story doesn’t begin in a boardroom or with a job title. It begins with family, responsibility and the everyday moments that slowly shape who you become. What emerged was a steady leadership grounded in values that had been modeled long before she ever named them. This is a story about legacy – how it’s inherited, honored and redefined.
Family stories place Sandy in a highchair in the barn as a baby, surrounded by the daily work. As she grew, so did her responsibilities: feeding calves, learning to drive the loader, and eventually milking cows. Each task brought with it a deeper sense of purpose and belonging. However, the moment she truly felt leadership came with her first 4H calf. Sandy still remembers going to the county sale and choosing a short, stocky January calf named Virginia – coincidentally sharing the same name as her grandmother. That calf wasn’t perfect, but she had the right temperament, and that mattered. Caring for Virginia taught Sandy responsibility and patience, and through 4H she began developing leadership skills that would quietly shape her future. Looking back, Sandy credits those early experiences with setting her on a path she didn’t yet know she was walking.
Sandy’s understanding of leadership was shaped long before she ever carried a formal title. It came from the women who raised her – her great-grandmother, grandmother, and mother – each of whom left an imprint on how she leads today. Her great-grandmother’s legacy lives in memories of family dinners and the care that holds people together. Her grandmother helped build Larson Acres alongside her husband, raising a family while working on the farm, managing books, and caring deeply about their community and neighboring farms, especially their success. Sandy’s mother, who didn’t grow up on a farm, learned it all as she went, becoming what Sandy calls the “farm mom,” balancing meals, keeping the farm and home clean and prioritizing family time, all while managing farm responsibilities.
“They did it all,” Sandy reflects. “Family and farm, both, and that’s hard!” That awareness fuels Sandy’s own reflection on legacy: not just what she builds, but how she herself will find that balance and be remembered. “I want to create that for myself and I want to be remembered as, yeah, she did that.”
After earning a degree in Dairy Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Sandy’s career took a brief detour off the farm. She worked at a local bank before returning to Larson Acres after starting her family. What followed was a gradual evolution of roles – bookkeeping, calf care, public relations, community engagement – each step responding to the farm’s growth and changing needs. As the farm expanded and brought on non-family employees for the first time, Sandy became a connector: checking in on people, ensuring they had what they needed, and cultivating a sense of belonging.
Today, Sandy serves as General Manager of Larson Acres, a role that blends people-centered leadership with forward-looking business decisions. She describes herself as a caregiver by nature, but one who is learning to navigate budgets, leases, equipment decisions, and strategic planning, even when those tasks don’t come naturally. To grow into the role, she leans on consultants, peer groups, podcasts, and relationships with others navigating similar transitions. “If you don’t have the skill set that you need,” she says, “it’s knowing that – and finding somebody to help you navigate through that.”
At Larson Acres, leadership is guided by values that have endured across generations. Nearly twenty years ago, the family defined three core words to guide the farm: quality, pride, and family, and these principles are still anchoring decisions today. More recently, those ideas have evolved into their RISE value words: relationships, innovation, sustainability, and excellence. These values shape how Sandy manages her team, from operations meetings with middle managers to a thoughtfully designed weekly recap shared with the entire team. Each message highlights a core value, celebrates wins across departments and reinforces safety. All these small but intentional steps help her build trust and respect.
Sandy’s leadership has also been tested in moments of profound challenge. One of the most difficult seasons came during a ten-year fight to build a heifer facility. This was a battle marked by community opposition, tense township meetings, and emotional strain. “As a family we believed in what we were doing. We believed we were doing what was right for our animals. We were doing what was right for our environment and our land. We knew what we were doing was the right thing.”
Though painful, Sandy and her family remained grounded in their beliefs and pushed forward. “We knew we weren’t fighting just for us,” she says. “We knew we were doing it for everybody else.” That perseverance ultimately changed the landscape for others seeking to improve animal care, a legacy that extends far beyond their own farm.
Through it all, Sandy has remained deeply committed to her community. Larson Acres supports local events not just with dollars but by inserting dairy into the community – donating products to 4H events, fundraisers and community celebrations. Their now famous Fourth of July parade tradition includes handing out 5,000 cheese sticks. For Sandy, community engagement isn’t optional, it’s part of who they are. “It goes back to our three words: quality, pride and family. We’re proud to be here in Evansville. Our family lives here, we’ve lived here for six generations, and we just want to support. It is important to us. We’re part of the community and we want to give back.”
But leadership in her community and the dairy industry extends far beyond cheese donations. Sandy has served many years on various boards, including a six-year stint on her local co-op board. She has planned dairy breakfast events and has spoken at local and national roundtables and speaking engagements. For Sandy, leadership has never been about visibility for its own sake, it’s about responsibility. Whether she’s showing up for her neighbors, helping guide decisions at the cooperative level, or lending her voice to broader industry conversations, her approach is grounded in the same values that have shaped her family for generations. It’s a steady, service-driven leadership that strengthens both her community and the future of dairy.
As the world recognizes the International Year of the Woman Farmer, Sandy hopes people see dairywomen clearly: “We’re here. We’re smart. We’re proud. And we’re capable.” She knows what it feels like to walk into rooms where she is the only woman and she believes confidence, curiosity, and showing up matter. Looking ahead, Sandy is focused on preparing the next generation: setting the stage for her children and employees to step into leadership with clarity and opportunity.
At the heart of it all is legacy: the women who shaped her, the values that endure, and the future she is building. “My mom, my grandma, my great grandma… they’re part of me,” Sandy says. “They show through me still today. Honoring their legacy matters. And I’ll continue doing my very best to create my own.”
Editor’s Note: This story is part of Taking Root and Growing Legacy, a Dairy Girl Network (DGN) storytelling project celebrating the International Year of the Woman Farmer. Sandy Larson was interviewed by Laura Daniels and the story was written by Amanda Kohls.
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