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Craigs Creamery, which is neither artisan nor small, is a venture among eight New York farms and the Dairy Farmers of America.

Chris Torres, Editor, American Agriculturist

February 28, 2019

4 Min Read
Sun rises as cows graze in a pasture outside Craigs Creamery plant
CHANCE TO DIVERSIFY: Eight New York farms are teaming up with DFA to market Craigs Creamery cheese with a message of locally produced milk and sustainability.

Artisan cheeses have found a nice niche in the many farmers markets and small farms in the region. But not every farm is suited to compete in this potentially lucrative market.

That hasn’t stopped a group of New York farmers from banding together to market cheese to diversify their businesses.

Craigs Creamery cheeses are rolling out it to local grocery store chains in the region, including Giant, Stop & Shop, and ShopRite. The product is a partnership among eight New York farmers and Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) to try to tap into the local food movement, marketing the cheese as coming from local milk and being made in a sustainable manner.

Close up of on-site biodigester at Craigs Creamery plant

SUSTAINABILITY SELLS: According to DFA, the Craigs Creamery plant is the only one of its kind to be fueled on-site by a biodigester.

Evolution of creamery
Chris Noble, the seventh generation at Noblehurst Farms, a 1,750-head dairy in Linwood, N.Y., returned to his family’s farm 10 years ago with plans to diversify the operation. The idea for building a creamery came in 2012. Noble says he and his family wanted to find a way to separate cream from skim and reduced-fat milk and sell those products to manufacturers. The cream would go to buyers specializing in ice cream and cream cheese, while the skim milk would go to buyers in need of protein.

Noble says they brought in seven other like-minded farms who were progressive in how they dealt with their cattle and land.

“We've had some relationships with them over time; but at the same token, they had a lot of sort of pride of how they produce their milk and how they told that story to consumers,” he says. “That's really something that allowed those farmers to get on board.”

DFA was brought in for its expertise in running dairy plants. The eight farmers and DFA became financial partners in the venture, the 14,000-square-foot Craigs Station Creamery.

Cheese processing started a year ago.

“The focus has been on cheddar, but we also dabble in other varieties as well; things like Muenster and Parmesan,” he says, adding that the brand also markets mozzarella that’s made in a plant in Ohio since Craigs Station doesn’t have the equipment available to produce it.

The creamery’s capacity is 15 million pounds a year.

Close up of locally sourced sustainably-produced Craigs Creamery cheese

FOCUS ON LOCAL: The cheese is marketed to local grocery store chains, touting the milk that comes from local farms and is produced using sustainable practices.

Unique opportunity
Noble says that making cheese presented a unique opportunity.

“Our concept was, ‘Hey, we are probably too big to do artisan cheese but too small to be a really larger part of the wheel,’” he says.

Craigs Creamery cheese is marketed as locally produced and sustainable, as the milk plant is only a few miles from all of the farms. The plant is powered by an on-site biodigester that uses animal waste and food scraps as the power source. DFA claims the biodigester is the only one of its kind that fuels an on-site plant.

“We're looking at the 10-hour drive in western New York and seeing a lot of people in our region,” he says. “This is focused on a local farm-to-table brand.”

The size of the plant and the group of farmers are just about right he says,. The cows at Noblehurst are a mix of Jerseys and Holsteins. He says they’ve been adding more Jerseys to the mix as that breed is are good for butterfat.

Diversification needed
Many farmers would rather stick to the tried-and-true formula of breeding, feeding and milking cows for the commodity market, even in this time of low milk prices.

Tim Northrop of Lawnel Farms, a 1,700-cow dairy in Piffard, N.Y., says his family’s farm needed to make a change. So, they joined the group.

“It’s been a great opportunity for us to link our farm with what the consumer wants these days,” Lawnel says.

Noble says the creamery is about the future.

“Our farm is not unique in the struggles of the industry. We’re all suffering from low milk prices. We took a conscious step to diversify our business into other areas: value-added production and renewable energy,” he says. “That diversification is helpful when looking at the long term.”

The farms in the group maintain their independence. The creamery has 10 employees, while the cheese plant employs 30 people.

Know customers
For farmers wanting to try this same thing, Noble says it starts with knowing where the customers are.

“I would say start with the market, start with what the consumers are asking for,” he says. “Today, ultimately, the consumers are telling us they don’t want as much fluid milk anymore. There is a lot of competition for milk right now.

“You have to think about where you’re located, what you want to do going forward. Are you in an area that you can grow, that you can go into different things?” he adds.

Getting like-minded farmers on board is also key.

“We were all pretty much on the same page,” Lawnel says. “We all kind of have similar management styles, similar goals. It’s pretty exciting to be able to be involved in this venture.”

About the Author(s)

Chris Torres

Editor, American Agriculturist

Chris Torres, editor of American Agriculturist, previously worked at Lancaster Farming, where he started in 2006 as a staff writer and later became regional editor. Torres is a seven-time winner of the Keystone Press Awards, handed out by the Pennsylvania Press Association, and he is a Pennsylvania State University graduate.

Torres says he wants American Agriculturist to be farmers' "go-to product, continuing the legacy and high standard (former American Agriculturist editor) John Vogel has set." Torres succeeds Vogel, who retired after 47 years with Farm Progress and its related publications.

"The news business is a challenging job," Torres says. "It makes you think outside your small box, and you have to formulate what the reader wants to see from the overall product. It's rewarding to see a nice product in the end."

Torres' family is based in Lebanon County, Pa. His wife grew up on a small farm in Berks County, Pa., where they raised corn, soybeans, feeder cattle and more. Torres and his wife are parents to three young boys.

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