Dietitian Meets Dairy

Heidi Wells - Kansas dairy farmer family

Heidi Wells has always been a risk-taker. From playing sports and snowboarding to falling in love with a dairy farmer, she lives life on the edge.

She grew up on a crop and beef cattle farm in the Flint Hills and had never been on a dairy farm before meeting her husband.

“I didn’t know what to expect,” she said. “I will never forget when my dad asked me if I was sure that I wanted to marry a dairy farmer. He said, ‘You know, that's a whole different smell.’ We still laugh about that to this day.”

As for the smells?

“Beef cattle, depending on what you’re feeding them, their manure has almost a sweet smell,” she said. “When you walk into the milk barn, it’s very sanitary. You have to sanitize everything, so you have that same smell like walking into a hospital.”

Heidi’s love of farming — regardless of the aroma — was forged from childhood.

“My passion for agriculture began on my family's farm in northeast Kansas,” she said. “Growing up in the Flint Hills on a diversified row crop and feeder cattle farm, it was simply the best life a Kansas girl could ask for. Watching the seed go into the ground, grow, harvested, hauled to the elevator and all the labor that went into that process simply makes you thankful for the food we are blessed with in America.”

Her fearlessness also took root at a young age. She played volleyball, basketball and softball, plus ran track in high school.

“I grew up in a town where if you had athletic ability, they wanted you in every sport,” she said. “If I wanted to hang out with my dad and two brothers in the fall, I needed to hunt, so I learned how to shoot trap and hunt.”

Heidi knew she wanted to incorporate agriculture into her career but wasn’t sure how. After suffering an injury in high school, she was introduced to physical therapy and exercise science. Then, while studying at Kansas State University, an advisor turned her on to nutrition.

“Once I started taking my nutrition class in college, I was bitten,” she said. “My interest of sports and nutrition shaped my educational pathway, but being able to tie agriculture into my career remained important.”

Heidi earned a degree in nutrition and exercise science and became a registered dietitian.

“Having that license — that RD stamp behind my name — really helps in the work field,” she said.

After graduating from K-State, Heidi got a job in Wichita, where she was set up on a blind date with Byron, now her husband. About a month into their courtship, they went on a vacation with Byron’s family to go four-wheeling on sand dunes in Waynoka, Oklahoma.

“We unloaded at 11 p.m. and Byron said, ‘Let’s go out on the dunes,’” Heidi recalled. “The dew had set in. That makes the sand really sticky. We made it half a mile from the gate, and I rolled his four-wheeler.”

Heidi dislocated her shoulder, and they went to a nearby medical facility for care. They couldn’t treat her locally, so she and Byron headed up to Pratt. On the way, Byron hit a deer.

“I kept thinking, ‘This relationship is done,’” Heidi said.

Even her mother, who drove down from St. Marys to be with Heidi, wasn’t optimistic.

“She said, ‘What in the heck were you doing on a four-wheeler at night out on the dunes?! If he comes back, he’s a keeper for sure,’” Heidi recalled.

That was about 20 years ago. Since then, the couple has had five children — Breanna (17), Hailey (15), Bridget (13), Heath (11), Bethany (9) — and taken over operations of Byron’s family’s dairy farm in Cheney. The children are all involved in the farm and are showing their agricultural personalities. Breanna is interested in animal nutrition. Hailey has an uncanny gift for knowing what the cows need. Bridget, who is nicknamed the “animal whisperer” in the family, has a knack for keeping all kinds of animals calm. Heath has recently moved from calf care to water tank chores. And Bethany has been known to record dances for TikTok in the barn.

“It’s fun to see the kids enjoy agriculture as much as Byron and I do,” Heidi said. “Whether or not they end up in agriculture, ag will still be a big part of their life.”

Heidi’s favorite chore is milking cows, especially her family’s tradition of milking together on Sundays.

“For me, it’s a joy to be in the milk barn on Sundays when our whole family is there,” she said.

Less of a joy is the early shift.

“Five in the morning is about as early as I rise, and our milking time starts at 4 a.m. You’ve got to be out of bed at 3:15 a.m. to get everything set up,” she said, adding luckily — knock wood — she hasn’t had to pull the early shift for a while.

As her children grow, Heidi remains involved in their sports, FFA and 4-H activities, all while juggling her jobs on the farm and work as a registered dietitian for the Cheney and Renwick school districts. It’s a lot to manage, but Heidi leans into the challenge — her risk-taking spirit is evident.

“My favorite part of being a registered dietitian and dairy farmer is seeing agriculture come full circle — from raising our baby calves, to seeing them become part of the milking herd, milking cows, watching the milk produced transported from the farm to the processing facility and then seeing the joy a cold carton of nutrient-rich milk brings to the students who come through the school cafeterias,” she said. “I'm truly blessed to have a career that makes it easy to be an ag-vocate.”

As Heidi and Byron look to the future, they look forward to exploring dairy innovations in their operation, yet another passion from Heidi’s childhood.

“My dad was always a step ahead when it came to farming techniques, which amazed me,” she said. “Now we’re diving into some innovations to see what’s going to work on our farm.”

Even though Heidi is a risk-taker and innovator, she still loves the comforts of home. From comfort foods — Heidi is a self-proclaimed lasagna-lover (“hands down my favorite”) — to the natural beauty of Kansas sunsets, Heidi’s heart is on the farm.