Antone Mickelson is a respected leader in the dairy industry with decades of experience advancing animal care, farm practices, and sustainability standards across the U.S. dairy sector. Raised on a family dairy farm in Idaho, Antone developed a practical, ground-level understanding of dairy operations that continues to inform his work today.

Throughout his career, Antone has played an influential role in shaping industry standards and best practices. His work includes early efforts focused on safeguarding milk quality and safety—contributing to long-term improvements in food safety and consumer trust. Antone previously worked with the Northwest Dairy Association and Darigold for over 33 years, serving as the Director: Farm Practices/Sustainability for the last 16 of those years. As Director, he oversaw regulatory compliance, social compliance, sustainability, animal welfare evaluation, and policy development. He implemented animal well-being assessments and developed dairy industry specific farm labor assessments throughout the association.

Antone has contributed extensively to national dairy governance and regulatory alignment, supporting finitiatives related to workforce development, animal care, and environmental stewardship. Antone served as the Vice Chair of the National Conference on Interstate Milk Shippers’ Executive Board, Chair of the Food Defense Committee, and as a member of Council III, Liaison, and Third-Party Certification Committees. He also served as a member of the National Milk Producers Federation’s (NMPF) FARM Animal Care, Environmental Stewardship, Work Force Development Technical Writing Groups, the Animal Health and Welfare Committee, and Chair of NMPF’s Regulatory Advisory Committee. Additionally, Antone served as a member of United States Animal Health Association’s Animal Welfare Committee, the Washington State Dairy Industry Producer Advisory Committee, and the Bovine Issues Working Group.

Antone has dual bachelor’s degrees in agriculture economics and animal science from Brigham Young University, along with an MBA from the City University of Seattle. He is fluent in English and Spanish.