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On-farm bottling pays dividends for farm family Tuesday, April 13, 2004
Agri News staff writer
HUDSON, Iowa -- For Jay and Jeanne Hansen's sons, Brent, Brad, Blair and Blake, the opportunity to farm is found in the gallon jugs of milk they bottle on their Hudson farm.
The family created Hansen's Farm Fresh Dairy as a way to farm together.
Blair and Blake take care of J & J Dairy, a 150-cow registered Holstein herd. Brent and Brad operate the bottling plant and handle delivery and marketing. Jay and Jeanne work in all areas.
The first milk was bottled at Hansen's Farm Fresh Dairy in early February, and demand grows each week. The dairy sells only whole milk but will add reduced fat and skim products soon. They might also make cheese curds.
Building the on-farm processing plant was a two-year process, said Brad Hansen. The outside shell of the building was put up by a contractor, but the family did all the work inside the building.
Milk is bottled at least two times per week with 300 gallons per bottling. As demand grows, bottling will increase. The family's goal is to bottle 700 gallons daily.
Cows are milked in a double-eight parallel parlor. After milking is done, the Hansens switch to processing. In the bottling plant, milk flows from a big tank into the computer-controlled pasteurizer where it is heated and cooled. From there a pipe carries milk to the bottler that fills and caps each jug automatically. A conveyor carries jugs into the cooler where they are packed in crates for delivery.
Deliveries are made in a refrigerated white truck with the Hansen name and logo across the side.
The Hansens sell milk at 12 grocery stores in Hudson, Waterloo, Cedar Falls, Gilbertville, Jesup, LaPorte City, Reinbeck, Traer and Waverly. A pizza place, a coffee shop and a retirement community serve the milk.
The Hansens home deliver in Cedar Falls and Waterloo, and people can come to the farm to buy milk. Customers buy on the honor system from coolers just inside the machine shed. They write down purchases and leave their money in a wooden box.
The milk that isn't bottled is sold to AMPI, the dairy cooperative the Hansens have sold milk to for many years. They sell AMPI cheese, butter and pudding at the farm and to home-delivery customers.
"AMPI has been great to work with,'' Brad said.
He and Brent are always thinking of ways to sell more milk, Brad said. At one Waterloo business, employees e-mail their orders, and the Hansens deliver at the end of the work day. They donate milk to community functions as a way to build recognition. The Buy Fresh, Buy Local program at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls has helped with marketing, Brad said.
Brad, who sometimes brings his toddler daughter, Morgan, to work, said he likes working with his family.
"We're all in this together, and we know what we have to do to get the job done right,'' he said.
The Hansens sell their milk for $3 per gallon.
Jolene Carolan brought her three pre-school children to the farm to buy milk on a recent morning.
"We like the milk,'' Carolan said. "It has more flavor. We're all for supporting family farmers.''
D.J. Holbach, co-owner of Randall's Stop 'N Shop in Hudson, said that the Hansen's milk is selling well and bringing new customers into his grocery store.
"In the past whole milk wasn't a top seller,'' Holbach said. "Since the Hansens put in their whole milk, we never sold so much whole milk in the history of the store.''
Holbach said he likes being able to work with a local farm family.
"The service is fantastic,'' he said.
Jeanne Hansen, well-known for the dairy tours she gives to children, is offering a "Life on a Dairy Farm,'' program. For a nominal fee, visitors tour the farm to learn how milk gets to the dinner table. A hands-on tour that includes feeding a calf, milking a cow, making butter, pictures and refreshments is available for $5 per person.
For information about tours or home milk delivery telephone Hansen's Farm Fresh Dairy at (319) 988-4284 or e-mail at freshmilk@forbin.net. |
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