Hague IDP Producer of the Year

FORT BRANCH, Ind. — Indiana Dairy Producers named its 2026 award winners at its recent annual meeting.

“The backbone of Indiana’s dairy industry is the people who show up every day for their herds, their neighbors and their communities,” said Steve Obert, executive director of IDP.

“Our 2026 honorees — whether they’ve spent decades serving our industry or are just starting out as scholarship winners — reflect the commitment and leadership that keep our industry strong.”

Producer Of The Year

The Producer of the Year award went to Daniel Hague of Albion in northeast Indiana. He and his wife, Susan, have a 90-cow farm in Noble County.

The farm has shipped Grade A milk and performed Dairy Herd Improvement Association testing since the early 1980s.

Hague represents producers on the Indiana State Dairy Association Board, serves as a delegate to the National DHIA meeting and is on the Dairy Records Services advisory board.

He also serves on several scholarships boards and is involved with local 4-H programs.

Young Producer Of The Year

The Young Producer of the Year award was presented to Alex and Abby Lueken of Birdseye in southwestern Indiana.

Alex is a third-generation dairy farmer with his wife, Abby, and their two small children. They host a Discover Dairy event at the Dubois County Museum for hundreds of people to connect their community with the farm.

Abby serves as the Adopt a Cow host for Indiana, sharing their calves with over 1,000 classrooms and more than 31,000 students.

Alex serves on the IDP board to advocate for dairy farming in the state.

Alan Kuehnert Memorial Scholarship Winner

Madison Lindauer of Ferdinand in southwest Indiana was awarded the Alan Kuehnert Memorial Scholarship.

Lindauer is a fifth-generation member of her family’s dairy farm. She is currently studying animal sciences at Western Kentucky University.

She plans to use her degree to become an animal embryologist to work with dairies on reproductive services.

IDP Scholarship Winner

The 2026 IDP Scholarship Winner was Joseph Renners of Borden in southern Indiana.

Renners is a senior in high school who works four days a week at a local dairy farm. His goal is to be an electrical engineer and someday own his own farm.