[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 145 (Friday, September 8, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E816-E817]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            HONORING KEN AND LIZ NOBIS OF NOBIS DAIRY FARMS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ELISSA SLOTKIN

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 8, 2023

  Ms. SLOTKIN. Mr. Speaker, today I pay tribute to Ken and Liz Nobis of 
St. Johns, Michigan, a couple who have devoted their lives to the 
betterment of Michigan's agriculture industry, both on and off the 
farm. Ken and Liz are first and foremost dairy farmers, but they're 
also trailblazers, leaders, and advocates. I am fortunate to call them 
friends, and now we can all call them part of our State's rich history, 
as their names are added to the Michigan Farmers Hall of Fame.
  After proudly serving his Nation in the United States Army, Ken 
returned to the farm where he was raised. For more than 50 years now, 
he and his wife, Liz, have co-owned Nobis Dairy Farms, the third 
generation of the Nobis family to do so. The farm includes about 1,000 
dairy cows and 2,500 acres on which they grow various crops, including 
alfalfa, corn, soybeans, and wheat.

[[Page E817]]

  As if that wouldn't keep them busy enough, the Nobis' have 
consistently and actively sought out ways to elevate Michigan 
agriculture. They have worked hand in glove with Michigan State 
University, helping hundreds of students complete research projects on 
the farm, hosting speaking engagements and other events, and creating 
scholarships for future farmers. Ken has served as the State's 
unofficial ``Milk Man,'' leading at various times the Michigan Milk 
Producers Association, the Michigan Dairy Market Program Committee, the 
United Dairy Industry of Michigan, the National Milk Producers 
Federation, and the Michigan State University Dairy Stakeholder 
Committee, to name a few.
  But what's always stood out to me is their desire to be the best 
possible stewards of what they've been given: the land, the animals, 
and their own time, treasure, and talents. Nobis Dairy Farms has been 
at the forefront of sustainability efforts in agriculture, and Ken and 
Liz have constantly sought to shine a light on food security issues 
with their involvement in supplying milk to food banks statewide. Never 
was this more apparent than during the Flint water crisis, when Nobis 
Dairy Farms helped coordinate the effort to provide tens of thousands 
of gallons of milk to Flint children to help mitigate the effects of 
lead in the body.
  For thousands of years, farmers have been the unsung heroes we look 
to in times of feast and famine, bringing new life from the soil and 
stewarding resources to sustain life into the future. Today's farmers 
carry an extra burden: safeguarding life on this planet for generations 
to come. Ken and Liz Nobis have lived this quiet heroism on their 
bucolic St. Johns farm for more than 50 years, and it's only fitting 
their names now take their rightful place in the Michigan Farmers Hall 
of Fame.

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