Fresh off the farm

Raw milk is a trend that consumers are starting to latch on to, but it can be difficult to find a supplier. Fortunately for central Nebraska, The Milk House serves high quality, nutritious raw milk with the help of its six Jersey and Jersey-cross cows.

Rancher Malloree Barnes founded The Milk House in 2020. Located on the grounds of Smilin’ Ranch Company near Gothenburg, The Milk House provides raw milk, dairy products and eggs.

Consumers looking for locally produced dairy products or foods for health and nutrition benefits may want to consider raw milk.

“The fresh milk straight from the cow is quickly cooled down and stored,” Barnes explained. “This process allows all of the natural milk nutrients to be preserved and left for customers to enjoy. Raw milk is rich in natural vitamins, food enzymes, and beneficial bacteria.”

How it started

The business idea came to Barnes in 2019 after she purchased a milk cow named Ethel to help feed bottle calves on the ranch. Friends and family inquired about purchasing raw milk and Barnes identified a need for a local source.

“I was 30 years old when I tried raw milk for the first time,” Barnes said. “I did a lot of research and had discussions with raw milk drinkers before giving it a try. Due to misconceptions and inaccurate representation, I’d been led to believe that raw milk would make me sick. But it didn’t take long for me to realize that it was such good, wholesome milk.”

After the first year of milking the cow, she discovered that she had excess milk to market. She added a second cow, Phillis, to her operation and began selling to additional customers who came weekly to refill their gallon jars. The problem was that her cow’s milk production was greater than her sales. In addition, the “milk stuff” was taking over her family’s kitchen and a dedicated workspace was needed.

Barnes decided to expand her product offering to include butter, cream, ice cream and other dairy products. In December 2020, her family secured a building and moved it to the family ranch.

How it’s going

Today’s herd of Jersey and Brown Swiss cows includes Ethel, Phillis, Edna, Theo, Martha and Margo. The girls dine on alfalfa and grass hay, and they enjoy cracked corn during milking sessions.

The Milk House building was remodeled and built to suit the needs of the business including a kitchen for washing milking equipment and jars and making butter and ice cream.

A storefront greets customers with a refrigerator, freezer, ice machine and sales counter.

With the help of Dawson Public Power District, Barnes was awarded a United States Department of Agriculture Value-Added Producer Grant in 2021.

“Economic development is part of the public power business model,” explained Dave Behle, Key Accounts and Economic Development. “We have a vested interest in supporting our local entrepreneurs to ensure the quality and value of the communities we electrically serve.”

The grant funds are currently being used for annual business fees, supplies to process the raw milk into other dairy products, packaging and distribution, marketing, trainings and salary for non-family labor.

The milk collection process

Nebraska’s Pasteurized Milk Law excludes milk and milk products produced by farmers exclusively for sale at the farm directly to customers for consumption and not for resale. Although The Milk House is not subject to state milk regulations, every effort is made to ensure the safety, cleanliness and quality of products.

“We milk in a clean stall and clean the floor shavings twice daily,” Barnes said. “The cows’ udders/teats are disinfected and stripped (the first 3-5 pulls on their teats do not go into the collected milk) before putting on the milking claw.”

The milk is pumped directly into an enclosed bucket to keep debris out of the milk. The cow’s teats are dipped into an iodine liquid to protect her from potential mastitis after milking.

“We also clean and disinfect our milking equipment after each milking,” she added.

After the cows are milked, the milk is filtered, poured into sterilized glass jars and promptly refrigerated.

“From cow to fridge, we strive to cool our milk within 15-20 minutes,” Barnes assured.

Future plans

Today, The Milk House is adding 2-4 customers every week with some of those customers committing to weekly purchases. The need for an additional milk cow may come sooner than projected if the trend continues.

Thanks to a Community Impact and Tourism Marketing Grant from the Nebraska Tourism Commission, Barnes plans to offer customers the opportunity to experience ranch life beginning in March 2022. The business will be called Smilin’ Ranch Adventures.

“There’s so many people who do not personally grow up on a farm or ranch and they want to know more about ranching,” Barnes explained. “This new venture will offer them the full experience from calving to feeding to milking.”

Among the busyness of ranch life, Ethel and the girls will continue to do what they do best: provide high-quality raw milk for customers to enjoy.

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