Steve Schlangen has been a member of the Associated Milk Producers Inc. (AMPI) Board of Directors since 2001 and was the chairman from 2011 – 2024. He also has served on the National Milk Producers Federation Board of Directors. Steve and his wife Cheryl operate a 65-cow dairy farm with a robotic milking system near Albany, Minn.
The Schlangens have participated in the NRCS Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) since 2005. In 2016, the Schlangens became certified through the Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program (MAWQCP). The Schlangens were the sole farmer participants on the start-up committee that became the Headwaters Agriculture Sustainability Partnership (HASP). The program was formalized in 2018 and is focused on implementing farmer-led conservation projects. They are also among early adopters in the Ecosystem Services Market Consortium, an initiative focused on gathering research to develop ecosystem service markets to pay farmers for adopting practices that protect the environment across the agricultural landscape.
The couple was honored with the Outstanding Dairy Farm Sustainability Award from the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy in 2022. They have four grown children and five grandchildren.