Milk from Rowdy Cow Creamery

Thanks to the cows at our farm, we bottled delicious whole milk today in white, chocolate, root beer and buttermilk. It's available at local stores in Geauga County, Ohio.

Friendly #6582 just finished milking

Rowdy Cow milk in root beer, white, chocolate, & buttermilk

Some of the girls in the milking parlor

Click here for a list of stores that carry Rowdy Cow Creamery milk.

Vanessa being milked

Whole milk is the original protein drink! It's nutrient dense naturally containing calcium, potassium, protein, phosphorus, vitamin A, vitamin B12, riboflavin and niacin. Milk is convenient, satisfying and filling as a snack or with a meal. So drink up!

Visit a Real Dairy Farm this Fall

There are two more open events at our farm this season. Join us to see the cows, taste milk, and enjoy the beautiful fall colors from our dairy on the hill.

Cow Tales Adventures (for children 5 & under w/ caregiver)
October 7 from 10:00am-12:00pm @ $6/person (12 months & under free)
This farm adventure allows young children and caregivers to take a wagon ride around the farm, pet the calves, ride the train, play, and have fun! Arrive by 10am and plan to be at the farm until 12pm to take part in all of the activities.  

Milk from Cow to Bottle Tour & Tasting 

October 11 from 1:00-3:00pm @ $6/person (12 months & under free)
Interested in tasting delicious fresh milk and meeting the cows who produced it? Attend “Milk from Cow to Bottle Tour & Tasting”. This event will include milking parlor tours, wagon rides, petting the calves, the cow train for kids, viewing the creamery, and milk tasting. This is an open house, so visitors can come and go during the event.

Take a wagon ride to the barn to see the cows (photo taken by one of our visitors)

A young visitor interacting with a calf

Let's go for a train ride!

Making a cow hat at the cow craft table

Friends enjoying a wagon ride around the farm

Tractor fun!

My sons, Jack and Garrett, and Mom (Carolyn) pour milk samples for visitors

Taste milk bottled at our on-farm Rowdy Cow Creamery. This is one of only a few farmstead milk bottling operations in Ohio. The milk is fresh and delicious! Milk will be for sale during all tours and events, so bring your cooler.
 

Me sharing information and answering questions from visitors

Parking is free. Activities are outdoors and indoors. No reservations are necessary. Remember, you're visiting a farm so dress for the occasion. The farm is located at 13181 Claridon Troy Road, Burton, OH 44021.

For information about Rowdy Cow Creamery, the Cow Tales and Milk Tasting events, private tours or party packages, go to http://hastingsdairy.com/ or contact me at hastings97@gmail.com.

Local Milk for Sale and Dairy Tours at Hastings Dairy

This spring and summer we're offering special events open to the public and milk for sale produced at our new on-farm creamery. 

Buy Fresh Milk at Hastings Dairy

Open: Daily 1:00pm – 5:00pm 
Milk is bottled at the new on-farm Rowdy Cow Creamery. Non-homogenized (cream on the top) whole milk in white and flavors is low temperature vat pasteurized in small batches to maintain its natural nutrients and great flavor. This is one of only a few farmstead milk bottling operations in Ohio.

My sons, Jack and Garrett, with bottles of Rowdy Cow milk

Cow Tales Adventures (for children 5 & under w/ caregiver)
May 20 and June 3 from 10:00am-12:00pm @ $6/person (12 months & under free)
This farm adventure allows young children and caregivers to take a wagon ride around the farm, pet the calves, ride the train, play, and have fun! Arrive by 10am and plan to be at the farm until 12pm to take part in all of the activities. Milk will be available to buy.  

A young visitor taking a spin at Cow Tales

Loading up for a ride on the Chugga Chugga Moo Moo Train

Milk from Cow to Bottle Tour & Tasting 
May 16, June 14 and July 3 1:00-3:00pm @ $6/person (12 months & under free)
Interested in tasting delicious fresh milk and meeting the cows who produced it? Attend “Milk from Cow to Bottle Tour & Tasting”. This event will include milking parlor tours, wagon rides, petting the calves, the cow train for kids, viewing the creamery, and milk tasting. This is an open house, so visitors can come and go during the event. Milk will be available to buy.  

A highlight of the tour is interacting with the calves

The wagon ride takes visitors through the barn to see the cows

Parking is free. Activities are outdoors and indoors. No reservations are necessary. Remember, you're visiting a farm so dress for the occasion. Milk will be for sale during all tours and events, so bring your cooler. The farm is located at 13181 Claridon Troy Road, Burton, OH 44021.

If you have a group of 16 or more, book a private tour of the farm. Group tours are perfect for schools, day camps, scouts, 4-H clubs, play groups, senior groups or any group! Looking for a unique party experience? Check out our party packages which provide private use of our facility.

The playground is lots of fun!

 My family is excited to offer dairy tours and farm fresh local milk! For information about Rowdy Cow Creamery, the Cow Tales and Milk Tasting events, private tours or party packages, go to http://hastingsdairy.com/ or contact me at hastings97@gmail.com.

The First Batches of Milk at Rowdy Cow Creamery

Rowdy Cow Creamery, our new on-farm milk bottling plant, is officially operating! We’ve been constructing, installing equipment, purchasing supplies and planning for a year and last week we bottled the first batches of milk.

The creamery ready for action

Fresh milk is pumped into our vat minutes after it leaves the cow’s udder. The milk is low temperature vat pasteurized in small batches.

Fresh milk is piped into the creamery

A small batch of white milk in the vat pasteurizer

Chocolate milk mixing in the vat

We bottle milk in half gallon and pint size containers. All the labels are put on the bottles by hand.

Half gallon bottles are ready to be filled with whole, white milk

My son, Garrett, helps label and organize the bottles before going into the filler

Milk is pumped from the vat to the bottler to fill the bottles.

Pint bottles filling with chocolate milk

Pints filling with white milk

Chocolate half gallons being filled

Orange Cream half gallons filling

Our product line includes a variety of flavors; white, vanilla, chocolate, mocha, strawberry, orange cream, root beer, and cookies & cream.

Orange cream pints filled, capped and ready for the cooler

Lad loading bottles into crates that will go into the cooler

Taylor taking the filled crates to the cooler

Our first two batches of milk in crates in our walk-in refrigerator.

Bottled milk chills in the refrigerator

Our milk will be on local store shelves soon. I’ll post updates on the Hastings Dairy & Rowdy Cow Creamery website and Facebook page to let people know where this delicious milk can be purchased. 

The finished product; creamy, tasty fresh milk!

Check out the Rowdy Cow Creamery website for more information about our milk.

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!

 

Want to Support Dairy Farmers? Buy Dairy Products!

When people visit our dairy, they often ask how they can support our farm. My answer is buy dairy products, any brand from any store. When you purchase milk and other dairy products, you support dairy farm families.

Here are answers to frequently asked questions I receive along with links to related posts;

How do I know the milk I’m buying comes from a “family farm”?

Almost every dairy farm in the U.S. is owned and operated by a family, so when you buy dairy you can be assured it came from a family farm. You can feel good knowing that you are supporting not only the family who owns the farm but also the people who work on that farm and all the businesses the dairy buys products and services from. Buying dairy equals supporting farm families and rural communities.

Me with one of our cows

I want to support farms that “treat cows well and use humane practices”, what product label should I look for to ensure this is happening?

Most dairy farmers choose this profession because they love working with cows. The majority of cows in this country are pampered, fed a well-balanced diet, and have a clean and comfortable living environment. Cows generally lead a relaxed lifestyle spending most of their time resting, eating and socializing. See, A Day in the Life of a Cow.

Lad with one of his favorite cows

Do your cows eat grass or grain?

Both. Like most cows in this country, our cows consume a variety of feed ingredients in a recipe prepared by a dairy cattle nutritionist. This yummy cow casserole currently includes corn silage, hay, rye grass, ground corn, soybean meal, distiller’s grain, gluten pellets and a vitamin/mineral mix. For more details, check out Dairy Diet – What do Cows Eat? 

Our cows having a meal

Is this milk local and fresh?

Milk goes from cow to store in about 2 days, so it most likely comes from farms near you. You can find out exactly where your dairy products were produced using the website Where is my Milk From. Simply go to the website and enter the dairy code on the product container to find out the state and plant that produced the product. For more, check out WhereCan I Buy Milk from Your Cows?

If a dairy product label doesn’t say “antibiotic-free” or “no added hormones” how do I know it’s safe for me and my family?

All milk is tested for antibiotic residue and dumped if it contains trace amounts of antibiotics. No milk sold in the U.S. contains antibiotics. All milk naturally contains small amounts of hormones. There are natural hormones in animal and plant food products. See, Testing Milk forAntibiotics and Somatic Cell Count and Are there Hormones in my Milk?

A group of heifers that are about 4 months old

How do I know I’m purchasing dairy products from farms that use sustainable environmental practices?

Dairy farmers have been recycling and caring for the environment for generations. Improvements and efficiencies have enabled the dairy industry to decrease their carbon footprint by 63% over the last 60 years. Today it takes less land, water, feed and resources to produce a gallon of milk.

To learn more, read Cows & Farmers are MarvelousRecyclers.

Transporting liquid manure to the field to use as a natural fertilizer

Not long ago, these questions were rarely asked. So why are people thinking about these issues today? I believe much of this can be attributed to marketing and package labeling. In an attempt to differentiate products, and charge a premium price, food processing companies have created confusion among consumers. Along the way, all this “marketing” has not helped the overall image of dairy farmers and dairy products. Pitting one feeding method or management practice against the other is not a good way to promote dairy. The truth is there are many good feeding, housing and management practices that work well for cows and milk quality. There is no one-size-fits-all or one method that is best. All Grade A milk must meet high standards.

The bottom line, picking out dairy products in the grocery store shouldn’t be such a challenge. I encourage you to pick the products that taste good, offer the nutrients you are looking for and are in the right price range for your budget. Thank you for supporting dairy farmers by purchasing dairy products!

Where Can I Buy Milk From Your Cows?

When visitors come to our dairy or in talking with people about our farm, I’m often asked “Where can I buy milk products from your cows?”

Today, people want to know who produced their food. They like to see a label with the name of the farm where the product originated. While it’s easy to grow and sell fruits and vegetables directly from farmer to consumer, it’s not that simple when it comes to dairy products.

Here’s how it works. Dairy farmers supply raw milk to a processor. The processor receives milk from many dairy farms. These farms vary in size, feed, housing, and other management practices. Milk from all the farms must pass the same quality standards to be accepted by the processing plant. The processor turns the raw milk into a finished product such as drinking milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, butter, or sour cream. The processor packages it for retail sale or sends it to another facility to be packaged. Then these products are distributed to grocery stores, food service vendors, schools, restaurants or other retail outlets.

To see the whole process, watch the video Ohio Dairy Farmers Milk From Farm to Fridge

Dairy product labels do not site a specific farm because each dairy product is made with milk from
many farms. Dairy producers have no say in what products are made from their milk, how these
products are produced, packaged or distributed, where they are sold, or the sale price.

When you see the price of milk, cheese or other dairy products change, it’s not because the dairy
farmer decided to alter the price of raw milk. We dairy producers have no control over the price we
are paid for milk. If our production costs increase, we can’t pass those costs on to the processor or consumer. We are price takers. Click here to learn about how dairy farmers are paid for milk.

Based on my experience talking with people, most are not aware of all the steps involved in milk
products from farm to store shelf or how dairymen are paid for milk. Many, including news reporters, believe dairymen set the price for milk. This is not the case. Some think dairy producers have control over products or packaging or labeling. We have no say in any of those things. We must depend on milk processors to make the delicious products consumers want.

If you want to support our farm and other dairy farmers, buy dairy products. Any dairy product. All dairy products go through the same testing and regulatory process to make sure they are safe and wholesome for your family. Thank you for consuming dairy!