«Our cows are 100 percent grass-fed,» said Ben Beichler. «They don’t eat corn silage or grain. They’re just basically pasture and in the wintertime they eat hay and baleage.»
The conditions of the grass the cows are eating and how the cows live, all affect the milk.
«The color of the milk changes as the seasons change,» Ben said.
With the amount of rain the area has had and the greenery popping up, that makes the color of the milk change slightly as well as the cream lines change, he said. It also affects the taste of the milk.
Ben equates raw milk and dairy to how area craft breweries can differ in taste, depending on how things are made, what products are used and the brewing process.
«It’s all based on what the cow’s eating,» Ben said. «The same as taphouses throughout Virginia, you know how each taphouse has their own flavor, dairy is the same exact way. Every farm, based on the breed of cows they’re milking, what they’re feeding them, their management practices are is going to affect their texture, color, cream line, flavor.»
It’s something the couple has been doing for the past six years — but they’ve been farming for almost a decade. The two first met at Polyface Farm in Swoope where Ben was an apprentice and Kristen was an intern.
Raw milk
On their farm, Creambrook Farm in Middlebrook, they produce raw milk for customers and are milk suppliers for two area farms. They milk about 32 cows once a day. On their farm they milk Jersey cows and have a total of about 80 to 90 heads of cow. With some new cows coming in after calving, their milking cow number should increase to 40 cows.
What they pride themselves on is their raw product — that means the milk straight from the cow.
They first bring in the herd and milk six at a time. Before milking, there is an entire cleaning process done on the cow to ensure a clean raw milk product.
At their farm they uphold the standards of others states that allow the sale of raw milk like Pennsylvania or California. Ben managed one of the largest raw milk dairies in Pennsylvania a few years back, so he’s familiar with the state standards, because Virginia doesn’t have any.
«You cannot sell raw milk in the state of Virginia,» Kristen Beichler said. «The way people can do it is you buy into the herd, like owning a share, and they get milk from their own cows. We don’t sell the product, we are a service of taking care of the cows and collecting that milk and giving it to them.»
They have their own lab that they test their milk before it leaves. They have duplicated the standards of Pennsylvania. It’s tested for bacteria, the cleanliness of the equipment that is used in the milking process.
Lots of people are turned off by the word «raw.» But, for the Beichlers, that’s the best kind of milk for you.
Back in the day, to clean up dairy, pasteurization was brought in. In turn, it kind of took away the whole point of milk, the Beichlers said.
«It also kills all the good bacteria,» Kristen said. «A lot of people became intolerant to dairy, because with raw milk there’s a lot of proteins and enzymes needed to digest it, which I think is really cool. It’s like a complete food. It has everything you need to process it. But with pasteurization, it killed all the bad stuff but it also killed off all the good bacteria and vitamins that you need.»
Quality is of the upmost importance in their operation. They track the temperature of the milk, keep the milking house extremely clean (Ben calls it «hospital clean.»)
«The quality, purity and integrity is really important to show that raw milk can be made, produced and enjoyed safely,» Kristen said.
Selling shares
Currently they have 90 families part of the raw milk share — amounting to 100 shares. How it works is there is one fee of $34 to buy into the herd and some people may buy multiple shares, depending on how much milk they want delivered weekly. Then, it’s $34 a month for boarding and delivery. It equates to about $7.50 a gallon.
They make weekly deliveries to Staunton, Stuarts Draft and down Interstate 64 to Crozet, Charlottesville, Palmyra, Richmond and Mechanicsville. They do drop-offs at some small local businesses in each place to allow for a centrally located place for their customers in each area.
«We love collaborations with local businesses,» Ben said.
They also send milk to Old Church Creamery in Mechanicsville and Caromont Farm outside of Charlottesville.
The couple bought the 243 acre farm back in May and have been doing the herd shares since June and are looking to add more people to the shares.
They also invite the public to come out to their farm this Saturday for a farm day starting at 11 a.m. Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for children.
«It gives the opportunity for our customers and those interested to check out farm life,» Ben said.
It also gives the Beichlers a chance to show their love of farming and their family business.
Creambrook Farm is not only a venture for Ben and Kristen, it’s something their three-year-old son James gets in on, too. He’s the clean-up crew in the morning and can chase around the cows in the day. The Beichlers say he’s getting the hang of farming pretty quickly.
«I enjoy just working out in the pastures with the cows,» Ben said. «We love drinking milk, we go through about a gallon a day.»
They also get to know the cows one-on-one.
«They difference between dairy and beef cows is you develop a little bit of a relationship with them,» Ben said. «You can tell who’s having a good or bad day and they know when you’re having a good or bad day.»
The farm is located at 189 Mish Barn Road in Middlebrook. For more information visit the farm’s website at CreambrookFarm.com or Facebook at Creambrook Farm.
Source: THE NEWS LEADER
Link: http://www.newsleader.com/story/news/local/2017/09/13/raw-milk-craft-beer-milk-industry/661047001/
