TILLAMOOK, Ore. — Dave Hogan’s love for dairying runs deep. The founder of Tillamook’s Misty Meadow Dairy grew up on a farm in Orland, Calif. As a child, he said, he lined up his marbles on the floor to corral his imaginary herd.

Today, with nearly 3,000 Jerseys among four family farms, Hogan has corralled his dreams into reality.

Misty Meadow is among the largest dairies in Tillamook County, supplying its milk to the Tillamook County Creamery Association, just a few miles to the north.

Determined to dairy, Dave worked for Orland-area dairies as a teen, purchasing land for his first small dairy when he was a junior in high school.

His moxie didn’t end at the dairy. At 23 when he met his future wife, Rita, the sister of a high school friend. He told her he was 30 and owned his own farm, Rita said. The farm part turned out to be true.

The couple was still in their 20s when they moved to Oregon, looking for greener pastures. It was the 1980s and there were plenty of farms for sale, Dave said. They settled on a small farm on First Street just east of Tillamook, with 100 Holsteins and began selling the milk to Tillamook Co-op.

Over the next three decades, the Hogans expanded their acreage to more than 1,500 acres, buying adjacent small farms for pasture.

Early in the new millennium, the Hogans transitioned their herd to Jersey cows to take advantage of Tillamook Creamery’s better pay for cheese yields.

“We started to focus on protein and butter fat and the Jersey breed had the qualities we were looking for,” Dave said.

The Hogans’ three adult children — two daughters and a son — are married and work on the farms. With Misty Meadow, they collaboratively operate Golden Mist, River Mist and Mountain Mist dairies.

Dave and Rita have 11 grandchildren — the oldest is 11.

Helping Dave and Rita run the farms are Becky and Joseph Heimerl, Matt Hogan and Ryan and Kristin Killgore.

In 1987, the Hogans purchased land in Christmas Valley in southcentral Oregon where they grow alfalfa and triticale hay. That land continues to supply all of the hay for their livestock in Tillamook.

In 2019, the Hogans installed an 84-stall carousel parlor. One by one, gentle Jerseys step automatically into the stalls and ride the giant circular merry-go-round without protest.

In addition to milk, showmanship courses through Hogan blood. In 2001, Dave bought his first pedigreed Jersey, Just A Few Renaissance Elisa EX-94%, which had been a reserve Grand Champion at the World Dairy Expo.

Now the family continues to show cows, including River Valley Excitation Flawless, a pedigreed Jersey that has won numerous show awards.

Recently, Misty Meadow took its prize show cows to Canada, where they won international accolades.

Although Misty Meadow’s show ribbons boost the dairy’s reputation, its attention to breeding practices is not just for show. Well-bred dairy cattle are healthier and more productive, creating more income at a time when every penny counts, the Hogans say.

Matt Hogan, who is in charge of the dairy’s genetic program, works with several experts, including Stephanie Mack, a genotyping specialist, and Ricardo Brenner, a Biotech veterinarian, to create the best herd possible.

Matt gathers tissue samples taken from each calve’s ear, tests them, and connects the information to each animal’s production, health and other data. The information helps the genetics team decide which cows and bulls will breed, according to current market demand.

For example, cows may be chosen for genetic longevity, cheese yield or ease of birth, Matt said.

An average of 12 calves per day are born at Misty Meadow, said Matt, his hand on the head of his oldest twin daughter, Natalie.

Each calf is the result of careful breeding.

“I used to play with farm sets, too,” he joked with his sister, Kristin, as they walked through the calf barns talking about their father’s childhood marble corrals. “Now we want to pass that love on to our kids.”