Waking up at 4:30am to spend 10 – 12 hours performing manual labor 7 days a week, 365 days a year sounds more like a prison sentence than a job to most people. But for our guest this week, it’s how he’s spent nearly every day for the past 40 years. And he wouldn’t have it any other way. 

Larry Stap is the owner/operator of Twin Brook Creamery, a dairy farm in Lynden, WA. With help from his wife, Debbie, his daughter, Michelle, his son-in-law, Mark, a growing crew of grandkids, and 250 cows, Larry produces, bottles, and distributes more than 500,000 gallons of milk each year. As a fourth generation dairyman, Larry is carrying on a legacy of farming that dates back to 1910 and it is clear that nothing gives him more joy than passing his love for farming down to his kids and grandkids. 

During our conversation, Larry shares many of the critical lessons he’s learned over his long career, makes a strong case for doing business with family, and tells a pretty crazy story about what happened last spring when COVID hit and Twin Brook had to switch their entire bottling plant from glass to plastic in less than 48 hours. It’s about as far from Kent and Onnie’s careers as a job can get, but it’s another great example that dream jobs can come in all shapes and sizes. (And that you can learn some amazing things when you talk to someone over the age of 40.)

Give it a listen! And then get #BackToWork. 

• Twin Brook on the Web
• Twin Brook Creamery on Instagram (meet the cows!)