The creamery has decided to save the family farm by producing and selling milk themselves.
FLATHEAD VALLEY, Mont. – Kalispell Kreamery, a local dairy success story, gained attention during the Montana Farmers Union Convention. The family behind this venture turned things around by directly marketing their milk to the community, exemplifying innovative problem-solving in agriculture.
“You know, my husband and I were transitioning, and my mom and dad were kind of looking at, are we going to continue the dairy farm?” Mary Tuck reflected. The family faced changes in the dairy industry and contracts, prompting concern about their farm’s future.
A pivotal decision was made over dinner. Tuck recounted, “We decided that, hey, we don’t need to let that control the survival of our dairy. We can actually change this, and we can produce our own milk or process our own milk.”
The local community responded enthusiastically to their venture. “It was just one of those amazing things,” Tuck said. They reached out to grocery stores and formed connections. “We named it Kalispell Kreamery because we really wanted people to know that, hey, we are local.”
The creamery’s reputation has grown throughout Montana, aided by their focus on quality milk and humane practices. Tuck highlighted, “We have a really high-quality milk because we’ve been doing it–we’ve been dairying for so long.”
Kalispell Kreamery serves as an inspirational model for others in agriculture facing challenges. Tuck emphasized the importance of perseverance, stating, “That’s what you have to do. We wanted to continue generations of dairy farms up here.”
