Doris Mold, a longtime consultant with Farmer Veteran Coalition, was recently inducted into the Minnesota Livestock Hall of Fame for her service to the livestock industry.
Mold, who assists with forming state chapters for the FVC and mental health care for Veterans, joins a Hall of Fame numbering nearly 200 inductees dating back to 1934.
“I am honored and humbled to be inducted into the Hall of Fame,” Mold said. “While I am only the second woman to be honored on her own, my award honors not only me, but the thousands of people who have helped me along the way.”
Mold is a co-CEO with Dr. Karisha Devlin in Annie’s Project, a national non-profit that educates and empowers women in agriculture. She also serves as president of Sunrise Agricultural Associates LLC, a consulting consortium that works in a wide range of areas in agriculture.
Her first mentors were her parents (her father was an Army Veteran). “They taught me the value of servant leadership and hard work,” she said.
Recognition
The Hall of Fame honor recognizes her impact on the livestock industry, which includes direct livestock work, as well as ag leadership in other avenues. A former 4-H and FFA member who showed and judged dairy cattle, she continued to work with 4-H and FFA as a volunteer leader and coach as an adult.
She coached dairy judging and Dairy Quiz Bowl, winning a state championship.
Mold worked as an agricultural economist at the University of Minnesota and continues to work on research/education projects with the university on a project basis.
She holds a Master of Science degree in agricultural and applied economics, and a Bachelor of Science in agricultural and applied economics, animal science and agricultural education, all from the University of Minnesota.
She was on the dairy, wool, and meat judging teams while an undergraduate and competed in national competitions with each team.
Involvement
Mold also served 10 years as general manager of the Upper Midwest Dairy Industry Association and has been an expert panelist for the USDA and numerous ag organizations.
She is the Milking Parlor and Moo Booth superintendent at the Minnesota State Fair. Mold founded the Moo Booth in 1991. It is a cattle interactive educational exhibit that receives hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.
Mold grew up on a dairy farm in East Central Minnesota. In addition to their dairy herd, they had a flock of sheep, some beef cattle, and she and her brother had a flock of laying hens. Today, she owns a dairy farm with her husband and child, and they also have a small beef cow-calf herd.
