Keith grew up on a small dairy farm near Greeley, Colorado, along with his three sisters and one brother. He was a 10-year member of the Box Elder 4-H Club with dairy cattle being his main project. He was active in dairy judging and was fortunate to be on the state winning team in 1970 that went on to participate in the National 4-H Dairy Cattle Judging Contest in Columbus, Ohio. Keith also had the opportunity to judge collegiately at CSU and went to nationals in 1975 – also in Columbus. He graduated from CSU in 1977 with a B.S. in Animal Sciences. He later attained his Master of Agricultural Extension Education degree from CSU in 2015.
Keith worked for the National Holstein Association and later Midland United Dairy Industry Association before returning to the family farm in 1983 where he partnered with his father for six years. In 1989 he became the Executive Secretary for the American Dairy Goat Association, a position he held for six years before returning to Colorado to work for Colorado State University Extension in Weld County. He began as the Dairy & 4-H Youth Development Agent and later became County Director in 2009. He was with Extension for 25 years before retiring in December 2020.
He and his wife, Lynn, live in rural Weld County east of Greeley. They enjoy gardening, outdoor activities, and spend plenty of grandparenting time with their 16 grandchildren.