Our Vision

To develop the elite dairy enterprise leaders of tomorrow

A group of cows standing in the middle of an aerial photo.

To identify the future needs of the U.S. dairy enterprise we surveyed over twenty prominent U.S. dairy farmers, expert dairy veterinarian professionals, academicians and industry leaders. Their input together with the expertise of the Fellowship Board of Directors became the foundation of the design of the Hjerpe Fellowship and the information that follows.

Notably, every dairy farm interviewed signed up as a participating Dairy Farm to the Fellowship.

A barn with an open door and no windows.
  • Financial, risk management and capital markets exceptionalism
  • Highly automated and data-driven decisions
  • Superior leadership in management with expertise in leadership training, dairy genetic superiority
  • Parlor and housing excellence
  • Expertise in managing 10,000 plus herd size
  • Cow and ecosystem centric focus
  • Diversified income strategies
A barn with an open door and no windows.
A large group of cows in a barn.

Core Values.

Science Driven

Collaborative

Open to All

Greater Good

About the Endowment

The Dr. Charles A Hjerpe Fellowship is funded by an endowment. The endowment will include donations from individuals, not-for-profits, institutions and corporations. These gifts create an enduring source of funding, linking scholars and learners from diverse backgrounds through the Fellowship, now and into the future.

A group of people sitting on the grass in a park.
What is an endowment?

An endowment is a long-term funding source composed of donated gifts, designed to support the mission and activities of a philanthropic organization, such as a university. Each year, a portion of the endowment is distributed to finance the organization’s work, while any additional growth beyond this distribution is retained in the endowment to ensure it continues to grow and benefit future generations.

Why is an endowment important?

Many endowments, including Fellowship’s, are designed to exist indefinitely, requiring the institution to depend on the endowment’s earnings perpetually.

Consequently, our endowment supports not only the current generation but also all future generations of the Hjerpe Fellowship students and scholars. Adhering to the principle of intergenerational equity, the Hjerpe endowment is meticulously managed to ensure that future generations will benefit from it just as much as the present one.

What does the Hjerpe Fellowship’s endowment support?

The Hjerpe Fellowship’s endowment is vital to our excellence in teaching, learning, and research, as well as the Hjerpe Fellowship’s mission-driven initiatives, partnerships, and case studies with over twenty leading dairy farms across the nation. Rooted in a tradition of philanthropy, the endowment funds a wide array of activities and efforts, including scholarships, Fellows’ salaries, and much more.