Bill Crist knows what it’s like to build something from nothing. Crist grew up in Lexington and spent his summers working on his grandfather’s farm, but had not given much thought to working on a dairy farm full-time until several years later. Crist attended the University of Kentucky, majoring in animal sciences and agricultural economics. Throughout college, Crist worked on his uncle’s farm, gradually picking up more hours and more responsibilities. A few years after graduation, Crist decided to go all in on his own. “I started my dairy farm from scratch in 1997,” he said. “I started with nothing.” Today, Crist runs his own dairy in Edmonton in southern Kentucky, milking about 450 cows.