Indiana Dairy Farms Welcome Visitors for an Inside Look at Farm Life
In partnership with: Indiana State Department of Agriculture
Next time you pour milk on your cereal, enjoy a yogurt parfait or indulge in an ice cream sundae, thank an Indiana dairy farmer. Home to nearly 700 dairy farms, Indiana ranks 14th nationally in milk production and second in the country in ice cream production. The state also has more than 20 dairy processing plants.
Two family-run operations, Freshly Dairy and Kuehnert Dairy, are part of the profitable industry, bringing exciting new dairy products, farm education and more to consumers.
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Freshly Dairy
Located in Lizton, just 20 miles west of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Freshly Dairy is a multigenerational family farm. Founded in 2022, the dairy formed when two brothers and their families teamed up to create the micro-dairy.
“We’re raising the fourth generation of dairy farm kids,” says Zack Ireland, one of the owners. “We partnered with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law to develop the farm and creamery. We had the expertise, and there was a demand and need for local dairy products.”
The farm has 13 cows and produces about 30,000 gallons of milk per year. They sell whole milk plus seasonal flavors like strawberry, orange cream, mocha, and cookies and cream at the on-site store and 17 different locations in the state.
One signature product they plan to expand on is Recovery Protein Milk, or RPM, a high-protein chocolate milk for athletes.
“We use whey protein concentrate to fortify the milk so that in a 12-ounce container, there are 22 grams of protein,” he says. “We’re really excited about it and looking to do more high-protein, value-added products. There are no locally sourced products like this that are protein enhanced.”
The farm also wants to branch into cheese and cheese curds and do more in their local community.
“Currently, we offer school tours and other tours of the farm on request. We also host events with the Indiana Dairy Association,” Ireland says. “It’s so important to teach people about where their food comes from. The more you understand, the more informed decisions you can make when choosing what you eat. We want to show people we’re producing a local, healthy product that creates a more robust Indiana food supply.”
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Kuehnert Dairy
Kuehnert Dairy, located in Fort Wayne, is a sixth-generation family dairy founded in 1897 with just 16 cows. Today, they milk 300 Holsteins and produce roughly 9.5 million pounds of milk each year, or 1.1 million gallons.
The dairy is owned and operated by brothers Nathan and Andrew Kuehnert. They work alongside their wives, Sarah and Brittany, children, mother and uncle.
In addition to its products, which include milk, flavored milk, butter, cheese curds and ice cream, the dairy has become an agritourism destination, holding tours and events throughout the year as well as an annual fall festival.
“We believe it’s our job and privilege to educate the consumer about how and why we do things and how we take care of our cows,” Sarah Kuehnert says. “We love to tell our story and show people where their food comes from. The community has supported us tremendously over the years, and we value building relationships with our customers.”
When visitors come to the farm, they can purchase products and enjoy pizza, cheese curds, ice cream and more at the Udder Upp Cafe within Kuehnert Milk House, the farm’s on-site store and restaurant.
Kuehnert says products are also sold at 18 wholesale locations across Indiana, and they’re looking to bring back the milkman with
door-to-door delivery, starting in Fort Wayne ZIP codes.
“We plan to continue sustainably and efficiently producing God’s most perfect food: milk,” Kuehnert says. “We want to operate with a model that will allow our farm to be here for at least another 100 years. Who knows what the future holds, but we’ll continue to adapt to positively affect ours and our cows’ lives.”
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