Learning by Doing: the Fred Stout Experience

A classroom setting has its place in education. But nothing compares to an internship that combines mentorship, hands-on work and full immersion for developing a career.

And while there are plenty of internships out there, imagine being able to craft your own—choosing what you want to learn, deciding where to do it, and getting real-world experience with Jersey cattle. That is exactly what the Fred Stout Experience is all about.

Since 2003, the award has been given to 35 young people, initially as a single opportunity and now available for two recipients each year.  Today one award provides experience with Jersey Marketing Service and the other offers an on-farm experience.

Jackie Mudd, this year’s recipient of the on-farm award, completed her internship at Kilgus Farmstead in Fairbury, Ill., where the family bottles milk from their Registered Jersey herd. She appreciates the Fred Stout Experience for its focus on Jersey cattle and the leeway to pursue her interest in on-farm milk processing.

“Going into a milk processing career without this experience would have been so much harder,” Mudd said. “I was able to learn firsthand from someone actively doing what I hope to do—and doing it extremely well. I have made lifelong friends in the Kilgus family, and I know that if I have questions, creamery-related or not, they will happily offer advice and encouragement. Their guidance and suggestions have been invaluable.”

From Dream to Ice Cream

Mudd’s dream of a milk processing business began with a simple love of cows and was shaped by her experiences and the people she encountered.

She grew up on a 40-cow dairy farm, where Holstein was the primary breed. Given its location in Berne, Ind., exposure to the Jersey cow was inevitable.

“A lot of people had a hand in getting me hooked on Jerseys,” Mudd recalled. “The legend Ronnie Moser has to be mentioned first. We were from the same county, and from an early age, I enjoyed hearing about his travels on the Jersey road. From stories about the famous ‘Veronica’ to scoring cows across the country and judging them internationally, his enthusiasm for the breed was infectious.”

Other Indiana Jersey breeders played a part, too. When she was in fourth grade, Tony Fuentes gifted her a Jersey calf—Bellavista Legal Shannon—from his family’s dispersal. She leased show cattle from Clay Snyder of Bryant, who helped her set up an account with the American Jersey Cattle Association, and enjoyed milking a full herd of Jersey cows in the early morning with John Sipe at his farm in Monroe. Her brother-in-law, Casey Baker, encouraged her to become involved in Jersey Youth Academy and apply for scholarships.

While she loved cows and everything they had to offer, she did not always love the notoriously small milk check that often came from milking them.

“I knew I wanted to have a smaller-sized dairy and felt a creamery was a way to make it sustainable,” Mudd explained. “Some of my first interactions with on-farm processing came through Jersey Youth Academy in 2021, when we toured Pearl Valley Cheese, Woodruff Jersey Farm and Young’s Jersey Dairy.”

After the program, the wheels were turning in Mudd’s head, and she took every opportunity to learn more about Jerseys, milking cows and processing dairy products. When she was crowned National Jersey Queen in 2022, she used the platform to promote the nutritional advantages of Jersey milk and the benefits of A2A2 milk.

At Purdue University, she became active in the dairy club, which she served as president, and the Sigma Alpha sorority. She competed on the Dairy Challenge team that competed in South Dakota and Florida and was a member of the dairy judging team that competed at the All-American Dairy Show, World Dairy Expo and the North American International Livestock Exposition, where they rounded out the year with a team win. The dairy judging team also competed at the Fort Worth Stock Show and the Western National.

“While I was traveling with the dairy judging team, I made it policy for us to stop at a new creamery every place we went,” Mudd said. “I called it ‘market research,’ and am glad my team members were along for the ride and willing to do it.”

Mudd graduated from Purdue in May 2025 with a degree in animal science and a concentration in animal production and industry and a minor in food and agribusiness management.

Over the next six months, Mudd participated in several programs to prepare for her future. She attended the U.S. Dairy Education and Training Consortium in Clovis, N.M., and represented the U.S. at the Young Breeders School in Belgium, where she honed her skills in showmanship, animal presentation, marketing and judging.

Fred Stout Experience at Kilgus Dairy

Mudd’s 10-week Fred Stout Experience at Kilgus Farmstead ran from late August through early November. She was initially drawn to the program because of its flexibility.

“This is a one-of-a-kind experience—tailored to the recipient,” Mudd said. “Not everyone is going to be interested in a creamery like me. They might be interested in going to a high-production dairy, a large dairy, or even a very successful breeding program.”

Over the years, producers participating in the on-farm experience include Arethusa Farm (Connecticut), Cinnamon Ridge Dairy (Iowa), Clover Patch Jerseys (Ohio), deGraaf Farms (California), Grammer Jersey Farm (Ohio), High Lawn Farm (Massachusetts), Marcoot Jersey Creamery (Illinois), Misty Meadow Dairy (Oregon), Pereira Pastures Dairy (Texas), Vermont Farmstead Cheese (Vermont) and Young’s Jersey Dairy (Ohio).

Although Mudd knew “what” she hoped to gain from an internship, the “where” remained wide open. The selection committee for the Fred Stout Experience brought it all together.

“While I had made many connections in the Jersey community, I knew the award committee had far more,” Mudd said. “I was open to hearing where they thought I could learn the most and gladly took their advice once it was given.”

Tara Bohnert, the first recipient of the Fred Stout Experience and a member of the selection committee, was tasked with notifying Mudd of her selection and shaping the internship to fit her goals.

“Tara asked what I was looking for on a deeper level than my application,” Mudd recalled. “I shared a few places I admired for what they do, and places I would be interested in learning from. She took it from there, meeting with the Kilguses to see if they were even interested.”

“Having Jersey help me through the process and start those conversations was tremendous, and having the Fred Stout Experience pay for housing was huge,” Mudd added.

The Kilguses secured the Airbnb where Mudd stayed and arranged the details.

“I was right there in small-town Fairbury,” Mudd said. “I absolutely loved it—probably my favorite community I ever lived in.”

Among her duties were bottling milk twice a week, making gelato twice a week, helping with farm tours and social media, and working in the farm store. A big responsibility was helping with the “Moo & Improved” grand reopening in October, which celebrated the store expansion.

Mudd appreciated the chance to get a behind-the-scenes look at a successful creamery. “I have been to a lot of creameries, toured them, and talked to the people running them. But a lot of the day-to-day things that aren’t discussed or go unnoticed, I was able to learn from this experience.”

When asked what struck her most, Mudd said, “This may come as a surprise: the sheer amount of storage it takes to have a creamery. From plastic jugs to gelato containers, it is pretty astronomical the amount of storage it takes.”

Mudd was also struck by the depth of planning required to plan and coordinate how to get products to where they need to be.

While she wanted an internship at a Jersey farm with a creamery, the show cows were a plus. But the best surprise was the people.

“The entire Kilgus family, especially Jenna, Matt and Carmen Kilgus, were so open about their operation and didn’t leave a question off the table,” Mudd said. “I loved being Jenna’s shadow, soaking in all that I could from her vast knowledge.”

“My favorite task was making gelato—something new to me—because there is so much artistry to it. ‘Team gelato’ was always a good time.”

Laying the Foundation

Mudd’s long-term goal is to establish Imporium Creamery, processing milk from the dairy herd she and her fiancé, Andrew Dowty, are building under the name Imperial Genetics. The two have purchased about 15 cows to date, with plans to milk 30-50 head, depending on future creamery demand.

Their cattle are housed at Knollbrook Farm in Goshen, Ind., owned by longtime family friends, John and Cynthia Adam. With the Adams’ children choosing not to return to milk cows, the door opened for Mudd and Dowty to potentially step into ownership.

“John wanted the place to remain a dairy farm,” Mudd said. “He told us, ‘If this is something you’re interested in, I’d be willing to work with you,’” Mudd explained.

The opportunity also aligns seamlessly with another one of Mudd’s passions: agritourism.

“The Adam family has built a legacy for their fall festival, which is woven into the entire farm,” she said. “They have a corn maze, pumpkin patch, petting zoo, cow train ride, wagon rides, food, paintball—just so many family activities.”

Mudd is also grateful to have a partner who shares her enthusiasm for the work and can lighten the load. Though both were raised in Indiana and showed in 4-H, their paths didn’t cross until the Ohio Spring Show several years ago.

“I always figured I’d meet my forever person at a cow show,” she laughed. “I just didn’t expect it to be in Ohio. But that’s how this industry works.”

In Dowty, she found not just a partner, but someone eager to build the same dream right alongside her.

“It is nice to have someone to spearhead this with,” Mudd noted. “I love the creamery side, but I also really love being with the cows day to day. I don’t know if I could just do dairy products every day. I think you need both—the hands-on connection with the animals and the creativity of making a product and connecting with consumers. You shouldn’t enter this business if you don’t love it, because it is a lot of work.

As for what she will eventually produce, Mudd is still exploring her options. She is now working with a cheesemaker about 40 miles from Goshen to learn that craft firsthand. Tentatively, she is considering hard-dip ice cream, soft-serve ice cream, gelato, cream-line milk and cheese.

Her Fred Stout Experience and time with the Kilgus family only reinforced that this is the future she wants.

“I am now even more certain that this is the path I want to pursue,” Mudd said. “I see a future filled with pretty cows, yummy cheese and ice cream and amazing people.”