New Day Dairy in Iowa: History, What It Raises, How It Makes Money and How to Contact It
Profile updated November 2026
New Day Dairy near Clarksville, Butler County, is a Century Farm dairy run by Dan and Lynn Bolin, with Dan's parents still involved. The Iowa Department of Agriculture gave the Bolins the Wergin Good Farm Neighbor Award in 2023, and the farm pairs robotic milking with a guest barn where visitors stay overlooking the cows.
| Location | Clarksville, Butler County, Iowa |
|---|---|
| Founded | Bolin family has farmed in Butler County since 1890; Century Farm |
| Sectors | Dairy; crops; agritourism farmstay |
| Scale | About 120 cows and about 200 crop acres (Iowa Department of Agriculture) |
| Why it is notable | 2023 Wergin Good Farm Neighbor Award; Travel Iowa lodging award for the guest barn |
| Ownership | Bolin family; Dan and Lynn Bolin manage |
| Official website | New Day Dairy official site |
History of New Day Dairy
The Bolin family has farmed in Butler County since 1890, and the farm was started by Dan's great-great-grandfather. Dan is a fifth-generation dairy farmer. He and Lynn met at Iowa State, spent a few years in Turkey learning dairying, then returned to the home farm.
They built a new barn with modern milking technology, and the first cows were milked there in 2015. The couple turned the barn's former living quarters into guest quarters, which became the Guest Barn. The Iowa Department of Agriculture awarded the family the Wergin Good Farm Neighbor Award on August 3, 2023.
What New Day Dairy Grows and Raises
The dairy milks about 120 cows with a robotic milker named Rita and farms about 200 acres. The Iowa Department of Agriculture notes the farm is FARM certified through Prairie Farms, its farmer-owned milk cooperative. Iowa Farm Bureau reports milk goes through Prairie Farms to a processor in Luana.
The Guest Barn has three bedrooms with private baths, a kitchen and a dining room, with windows overlooking the barn. Guests tour the dairy, see the robot milker and can add a hands-on farm challenge. Small tours are also open to non-guests.
How New Day Dairy Makes Money
Milk sales
Milk is shipped through the farmer-owned cooperative Prairie Farms, the base revenue for the herd.
Farmstay lodging
The Guest Barn rents rooms to individuals and groups. Iowa Farm Bureau reported a nightly rate and a continental breakfast of farm dairy products.
Hands-on experiences
Optional add-ons such as feeding a bottle calf and milking let visitors pay for a dairy day, while the farm builds consumer trust.
Farm Insight: What Other Operators Can Learn from New Day Dairy
Use a second building to add a second income stream. The Bolins converted existing space rather than building a venue from scratch, then connected it to the dairy story.
Be open about technology. A named robot, visible from the guest loft, turns an efficiency investment into a conversation with the public.
Not many hotels let guests wake up to a cow named for a robot and call it a feature. The editors at farm.FM are fans of farm satire, farm humor, ranch humor and farm jokes, and a robotic milker named Rita gives us all kinds of material. We just hope Rita has a good review on the guest barn website.
If the name is new to you, farm.FM is the nation's first satirical farm site, with Tractor Tunes country music for farmers on the side. One of its regular writers keeps a whole archive of stories like that.
How to Contact New Day Dairy
Website: https://www.newdaydairy.com/
Contact and booking details are on the operation's own site; the Guest Barn may also be booked through Airbnb according to Iowa Farm Bureau. Confirm before traveling.
New Day Dairy Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- New Day Dairy - Official site and guest barn
- Iowa Department of Agriculture release - Wergin Good Farm Neighbor Award announcement
- Iowa Farm Bureau feature - Guest barn and robot milker profile
- Iowa State University Dairy Farm - Land-grant dairy research resources
- USDA NASS Census of Agriculture - National dairy statistics
New Day Dairy FAQ
Where is New Day Dairy?
It is near Clarksville in Butler County, Iowa.
Can the public visit?
Yes. The farm runs a Guest Barn stay and small group tours, according to Iowa Farm Bureau and its listing.
How many cows does it milk?
The Iowa Department of Agriculture reports about 120 cows.
Who buys the milk?
Milk goes through the farmer-owned cooperative Prairie Farms.
New Day Dairy shows how an old Century Farm can add technology and a visitor business to stay strong. Visit our Iowa farms guide for more.