The Creation of our On-Farm Creamery

We’re in the process of building and equipping an on-farm creamery to bottle milk from our cows for retail sale. There is an interested in purchasing products directly from the farmers who produce them. Our creamery will allow people to purchase fresh milk from a local farm.

We will produce small batches of non-homogenized, whole milk in white and flavors. The creamery is located just steps away from where the cows are milked. You can’t get any fresher than that! Very few dairy farms in Ohio, or across the country, make products on-farm for retail sale. We’re excited about this new adventure!

We remodeled a portion of office space in the barn for the processing room. Here are some pictures from the construction of the Creamery which started in February. . .

The office space before becoming a Creamery

A local Amish family remodeled this space

The room with it's new ceiling

Me in the Creamery after the walls were complete

Experts from Burton Carpet carefully install the tile floor

Preparing the concrete mix for the Creamery floor

The tile floor during installation

The 250 gallon vat pasteurizer being delivered

Lad moved it with the loader while I watched nervously

Lad moved the pasteurizer onto the front porch with the skid steer

Moving the vat pasteurizer into it's new home

Discussing the next steps to installing equipment in the Creamery

We plan to sell milk at the farm, at local retail outlets and restaurants. We hope to be producing milk for sale by mid-June. For updates, check this blog or the Hastings Dairy Facebook page.

My Visit to PA Farmstead Milk Processing Dairies

Lad and I recently had the opportunity to visit a few dairy farmers who operate Farmstead milk processing facilities, which means they process the milk from their cows on their farm.

Most dairy farmers ship raw milk to a processor who turns it into a finished product like cheese, ice cream or yogurt. A small percent of dairy farmers have processing facilities on their farm where they can process milk into a finished product ready for retail sale.

Purchasing food locally and knowing who produced it continues to be a strong trend. We wanted to visit some dairy farms who process their own products to see how it's done.

Brunton Dairy, located in Aliquippa, PA, is a family farm that dates back to 1832. This dairy farm and milk processing facility is owned and operated by family members. 

This sign let us know we arrived at Brunton's farm

Herb Brunton talks with my husband, Lad, in the barn at Brunton Dairy

The milk case at the Brunton Dairy on-farm store

Brunton's delivers milk to your door; these trucks hit the road 6 days a week to make deliveries

Windy Ridge Dairy, located in Fombell, PA, is a family owned and operated Jersey dairy. They milk cows, grow crops, process their own milk, ice cream and natural tea and operate an on-farm store.

Windy Ridge Dairy is home to the Fisher family and their beautiful Jersey cows

Chris Fisher in front of her on-farm milk processing plant

Their store sells milk, ice cream, and tea made on the farm along with other products

These families work hard to care for their cows and make dairy products many families in Pennsylvania enjoy. If you are in the Pittsburgh area, I encourage you to visit these dairy farms to buy some milk, ice cream and other delicious dairy products.

We also stopped by Baker's Golden Dairy to purchase some of their milk to sample. They are one of the only dairy farms in Ohio that bottle their own milk on-farm. Baker's offer a variety of milk flavors. The cookies and cream and banana were my favorites.

 This is a sampling of what we brought home. . . .

Good stuff!