Community Liaison huffman@ssnewstelegram. com
The Van Der Jagt family began farming in Hopkins County in 1997, when parents Simon and Prina Van Der Jagt emigrated with their children from Holland to the U.S. and eventually to southern Hopkins County, Texas. Today, with four of their five grown children in this country, the couple sees their sons successfully carry on the family tradition of dairy farming. During the 2025 Hopkins County Dairy Festival, the younger son, Bennie, his wife Cassi, and their two sons will represent the Van Der Jagt family as Grand Marshalls in the parade on the morning of June 7, 2025, from Buford Park through the downtown district of Sulphur Springs.
Bennie spoke about dairy farming and coming to America during an interview for the Down Home Today podcast, presented by the Sulphur Springs News-Telegram. “I was seven years old when we left Holland. Governmental regulations on agriculture in Holland were changing, and my parents were looking at other countries we could move to. But we found our way to Hopkins County, Texas, and bought the Dan Martin Dairy off Hwy. 19 South. That was our family’s home dairy for years. I attended Sulphur Springs ISD and graduated there, and in my first year out of school, I didn’t really work on the dairy that much. I was figuring out what I wanted to do”.
Bennie’s older brother, Aidre, got him interested in dairying as a career. In 2011, the brothers purchased a second location, and in 2018, added a third operation after their sister Sindie and husband Peter joined the family business. Bennie added, “In late 2024, we opened our fourth location. During all this, another sister and her husband began running a dairy in the Winnsboro/Gilmer area, and our other sister has remained in Holland”.
The key to success in dairying is efficiency, according to Bennie. He explained, “Regulations have become harder over the years, and input costs are another factor. Everything affects us; weather, crops, grain prices, economy, milk pricing, trade; everything affects our income. We’ve had some scary years, but the ups and downs are all part of it. We always try to do our best, and we have a lot of good employees. We can’t do without them. We milk twice each day, and we have three teams of employees who rotate every third day, so two teams are always working”.
Herd replacement is an important part of the business, as the operations require 80-100 replacement cows every month. The Van Der Jagts breed for that, and try to aim for 85-90 replacements each month to allow for steady growth. “Also, we use the local sale barn to buy and sell, and we use a local veterinarian. Dr. Rob Sherman has been our vet for years”, stated Bennie.
Cassi Van Der Jagt brings her own deep dairying roots to the table. “My great-grandfather, Ralph Brown, had one of the first automated milking systems in the county. My grandfather had a dairy at Como, and my mom and dad both grew up on dairies, so I heard all the stories of the old days of dairying. We had neighbors like the Lageschaars at Pickton, where I helped to bottle calves and help in the barns as a kid, and they are still good friends today. I don’t work on our dairy, but I do like to be out there and see what's going on with the cows and calves. My aunt and uncle also farm; they have chicken houses near where we live”.
Cassi went to nursing school at North Texas Community College, became a registered nurse, and has been employed at CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital in Sulphur Springs for 12 years. She is currently assigned to the interventional radiology department. Cassi stated, Dairy farming as a family used to be common, but in today’s world, it’s not commonplace anymore. I feel, as Bennie does, that raising a family in agriculture within a small town or community can be one of the best decisions parents can make for their children. I always felt I was destined to marry a dairyman, and so that’s what I did!”.
Conrad Van Der Jagt is a fourth-grader at Como-Pickton CISD, and baby Arie is approaching a year old. Conrad likes helping his dad with cutting in the field and various farm chores, and plans to follow in his father’s footsteps. Encouraged by his parents, Conrad got involved with the NETLA livestock show by showing a pig project, and he plans to enter a project again in Spring 2026.
This Saturday, find yourself a spot along the parade route, and you may see Conrad tossing candy from the lead car when his family appears as Grand Marshalls of the Hopkins County Dairy Festival Parade. The parade will step off June 7, 2025, at 10 a.m. from Buford Park in Sulphur Springs, traveling east on Connally Street, turning south at the square onto Gilmer Street, and dispersing when it reaches the Brookshire’s area. There are more Dairy Festival activities the same day at Shannon Oaks Church starting at 3 p.m.