Farm Life Creamery

Farm Life Creamery

www.farmlifecreamery.com

In the spring of 2017, Chad Blase quit his full-time job to go back to work with his parents on their dairy farm. Within months, milk prices were sinking and Chad and his partner Laura Klock, along with Chad’s parents, Amy and Gary Blase, realized it was time to have some difficult conversations about whether the farm could continue to be financially workable for their families during this downturn.

“All I could really do was listen. I heard them say, ‘Are we going to quit farming, or are we going to add value to our product?’,” said Laura, “And so I thought, let’s just check it out and see what we can do.” Right away, Laura, who refers to herself as a “serial entrepreneur,” started working through possibilities for a more sustainable version of the family’s farm. She had repeatedly heard Chad’s mom, Amy, talk about how it was her dream to have a creamery someday.

Making your own product is a dream that many have, and Amy’s dream started to become a reality for the family with some research into the feasibility of a creamery. During the research process, they discovered Valley Side Farm Cheese, which was for sale, and the next thing they knew, they had purchased the company and its inventory and were learning from the previous owners how to make cheese.

The family started retrofitting an old dairy barn on their property, making a cheese aging room from the old milking parlor, and setting up a make room. The bulk of their business plan was to make cheese, introduce bottled milk, and use Chad’s parents’ Grade A milk from their 100 Holstein cows. The dream of Farm Life Creamery became a reality.

Their first success came with the cheese curds. “We call ourselves the Baskin Robbins of flavored cheese curds,” Laura stated. “Our cheese is delicious, made from full-fat Grade A milk and super creamy, but we challenged ourselves to come up with some interesting and good flavors. 45 different flavors in all (so far).”

Some of those interesting flavors include Bloody Mary cheddar, coffee cheddar, bourbon barbecue, and smoked bacon.

2019 was a building year for Farm Life Creamery and their next goals, to expand their cheese product line and bottle their own milk, were the plan when they applied for the USDA Value-Added Producer Grant. By March of 2020, right before the pandemic hit and everything shut down, they had their best week ever.

“We sometimes felt like we picked the worst possible time to start a new business. It just felt like a crash. People began just buying essentials, and our products weren’t a staple. It was a little scary,” Laura admitted. “We just pivoted to the mindset of ‘anything we can do,’ from personal delivery to setting up shipping. It has been a roller coaster.”

Fortunately for them, the $50,000 grant came during the height of the COVID 19 pandemic in the fall of 2020, and they were grateful for the boost. The family continued with the milk bottling system build out and in recent months, the creamery has started to bottle their own milk. This new change came with its delays, however, as the electricity they needed to operate their new bottling system required the help of inundated service workers. This time of waiting, although inconvenient, opened the farm to new self-built opportunities.

In the meantime, the farm focused on other projects and ideas to support the business. “Because of the times we were in, we got creative,” Laura said. This creativity led to the origin of their 18 hole mini golf course and tractor tire playground, two dream projects aiding their goal of bringing people together.

The surrounding community helped pitch into these efforts as well. Local businesses sponsored the holes as a way to support Farm Life Creamery and market their companies. In addition, farmers in the area who did not have uses for old tractor tires donated them to repurpose into playground equipment.

In addition to these on-site activities, the farm offers tours to teach about their cheesemaking and milk bottling. These tours are accessible to those on road trips drawn to the farm’s close proximity to the interstate, a marketing point for the business, and school groups from the area. Those visiting are able to enjoy the fresh Farm Life Creamery rolled ice cream along with the variety of friendly farm animals, including alpacas, emus, and other livestock. Another guest favorite is the farm’s dogs who are well-loved by the touring students and often make an appearance in their group photos.

For those who are local to the area, Farm Life Creamery also organizes on-site events. With last summer being a time of trial and error, they hosted various get togethers as a way to test what people were interested in. One of these events was a monthly date night tailored to older visitors with the slogan, “we stay open late so you can have a date.” Couples were able to enjoy a bonfire, unlimited mini golf, and food truck treats under the starry South Dakota sky.

Whether visitors are interacting with the various animals on the farm or enjoying their tours and activities, there is a community of all ages built around fun, learning, and a passion for agriculture. “We just want to keep little pieces of rural America alive if we can,” Laura shared.

After learning about all that’s going on at the farm, you find yourself wondering how Laura and the family are able to do it all. However, it seems they have mastered the art of multitasking and realizing their dreams all at the same time.

At the end of the day, access to the Value Added Producer Grant program was a true lifeline for the business and allowed them to market their products, get their cheese and milk to more area stores, and provide delivery and shipping through online orders. Laura expressed that “having these grants available just keeps amazing parts of America alive that are kind of going away.”

As they are the first in the state to have a small bottling plant, Laura indicated they are “blazing a trail.” To grow a community of other small creameries, the farm is always open as a helpful resource for any interested farmers. “I’ve always been a believer in we’re all stronger when we work together,” she explained.

With the one-of-a-kind position they are in, those at Farm Life Creamery hope to continue offering great experiences with the offerings at their farm. By planning to add new shaded picnic-style seating with materials from a damaged barn to repurposing an old building for an event and cafe space, their focus will always be on how they can grow with what they have for the enjoyment of the community.