All in the Family

The World Dairy Expo is the perfect meeting spot for Craig Achen and his Kansas-based dairy family. Achen and his wife Cindy have 11 children – ages 14 to 31 – and the family annually gathers at the World Dairy Expo. “It’s not set in stone that we’ll come every year,” Cindy says, “but when it works out, this is absolutely a great place for getting together. We all love cows and the dairy business, and we all have memories of trips here in the past that connect us as a family. The Achens operate a 3,200-cow commercial dairy and 10,000-head heifer feedlot near Lakin, Kansas, in the southwestern portion of the state.