As the owner and operator of Cedar Ridge Farms, a third-generation family dairy farm in Nephi, Utah, Sheila Sherwood is a stalwart advocate for the dairy community. Her journey from academic excellence to international humanitarian work and local agricultural leadership exemplifies her unwavering dedication to the industry and her community.
“I grew up on a dairy farm in Juab County and knew that’s what I wanted to do. I wanted to be involved in agriculture,” she says. At Brigham Young University, she earned her bachelor’s degree in animal science and a master’s degree in reproduction physiology. “I wanted to do embryo transfer with my own cows. … I chose BYU because they were doing a lot of embryo transfer work at their dairy. I got a job there and learned on my own time,” she explains.
Currently, Sherwood cares for the 1,000 cows at her family dairy and tirelessly advocates for Utah’s dairy community. She has been instrumental in addressing the economic challenges faced by dairy farmers, rallying the community to explore any and all solutions.
“I’m very concerned about the future of agriculture here in the state of Utah and our ability to meet the needs of Utahns,” Sherwood says. “We have more people, less cows and less dairymen, and we cannot meet the [consumption] needs of the state of Utah.”
Emphasizing the urgency of her mission, Sherwood notes that Utah had 153 dairy farmers in 2022. That number has dropped to “just barely over 100 now,” she explains. In an effort to research this decline and discover the industry’s options, Sherwood is spearheading the Utah Dairy Commission Economic Feasibility Study. “We don’t expect results back until mid-November,” Sherwood says. “We hope to get feedback we can turn into an action plan.”
Though a born and raised Utahn, Sherwood’s expertise impacts more than Utah or even the U.S. Working with Latter-day Saint Charities, she has managed farm operations in North Korea, utilizing her work with embryo transfer to bolster the nation’s food security. “We brought over dairy embryos and beef kettle embryos and implanted them over there to start a seed stock herd for a very humble people that are or have been in the last decade facing starvation,” she says.
Despite the mounting pressures of urbanization and economic challenges, Sherwood remains optimistic and proactive. She collaborates with state and federal agencies, including Utah’s commissioner of agriculture and the Utah Farm Bureau Federation, to explore strategies for preserving the state’s agricultural roots. Her commitment to local food sourcing and sustainable farming practices reflects her broader vision for our agricultural future. To Main Page