Local dairy farms are an important piece of our Northeast economy. In New York, dairy production makes up for nearly half of the total agriculture output, and there are over 900 dairy farms in the state of Vermont alone! Dairy farms are one of the lifelines of the Northeast, and we’re proud to team up with a variety of local dairies in communities throughout our Northeast footprint.
Our PICS milk is bottled in New York with the help of over 500 Northeast dairy farmers: When you take home a jug of our milk, you’re taking home the product of hard-working local farmers (and cows) from our region.
Argus Acres is an example of one of these local dairy farms. Located a few miles from our Cobleskill store in rural Sharon Springs NY, the farm was founded in 1948 and has proudly served the local community ever since. The Argus family shares their hometown with the Fabulous Beekman Boys and their Beekman 1802 Mercantile shop!
Taft’s Maple and Milk Farm is another Northeast dairy farm staple, located in Huntington VT, just a short drive from our Barre store. The Taft family farm is unique: it thrives off of Jersey cattle and maple sugaring. Maple sugaring is a staple all over Taft’s home state: Vermont alone produces about 6% of the world’s syrup supply!
Located in Hudson Falls, NY, Ideal Dairy Farms is another great local dairy farm. These folks are just a few miles down the road from our Fort Edward store. Ideal Dairy first began selling milk to local residents around 1908. These days they produce over 16,000 gallons of milk per day! Despite operating for over 100 years, the vision of Ideal Dairy has remained unchanged: they’re committed to the production of quality milk for their community.
There are lots of dairy farms in top-producing states like California and Wisconsin, but we choose to source our PICS milk from our neighbors, which traces back to our home.grown. philosophy that everything tastes better when it’s produced nearby. These local dairy farms are just a few of the many hard-working folks that help us bring the highest quality local products to your table.
When it’s made or grown here, we get it here: from milk to marinara sauce!
At Price Chopper and Market 32, we know one thing – making sure we have the best quality foods in our own brands brings value and enjoyment to our customers and communities. In business over 80 years, we also know that working with our local agricultural producers is a great way to deliver on that promise, and our PICS long process, naturally aged, award winning cheddar is a great example.
Did you know – the most popular cheese in America is cheddar? This spring, with friends from the American Dairy Association Northeast, I visited the cheese makers that create this wonderful cheese, and saw firsthand how hard they work to make it. We partner with Great Lakes Cheese Company, located in Adams, NY, in the heart of New York dairy country. They have been here over 40 years, and are committed to the New York North Country, so much so that they doubled production capacity in 2009. Experts that have crafted their process over time, they make several types here – mild, sharp, and extra sharp New York cheddar cheese to name a few. They also process the whey portion as part of sustainability efforts and for new product ingredient markets.
John Jennings, Plant Manager for over 40 years, and Nathan Pistner, Assistant Plant Manager, were proud to show us the inner workings of this modern facility, and most proud of their 122 employees. There is a lot of workmanship in this cheese – over 300 years of combined expertise on first shift alone!
By the numbers, they receive 2,500,000 pounds of high quality milk from local dairy farms like Murcrest Farms per day, which becomes over 87 million pounds of cheese per year. (Cheese heaven?!) The farms they work with must meet high standards for cow care. Like the farms, this is a 24- hour, 365 days per year operation – cows don’t take any days off. They use natural ingredients, and move the cheese through the process using air, to protect the curd integrity and texture. These steps ensure a premium, reliable, delicious cheese on your table every time!
The tour showed us all of the work and time that goes into making this cheddar – there are quality tests built into every step, and they continue throughout the entire year of aging. Once they have the cheese in production, and process the whey, they turn the remaining liquid back into clean water that helps keep the plant clean – another sustainability process they are very committed to. Tradition and technology are part of making sure they are serving their own communities and partners well.
You will be sure to enjoy these wonderful cheddars, as a great snack, or as part of a new recipe – check out the links below for some delicious ideas!
https://www.pricechopper.com/recipes/7865/Jalapeno-Cheddar-Cheese-Corn-Muffins
https://www.pricechopper.com/recipes/14338/Mini-Apple-Pies-with-Cheddar
https://www.pricechopper.com/recipes/10988/Cheddar-Stuffed-Mini-Meatloaves-with-Chipotle-Glaze – this would be a great stuffed burger, too!
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Ellie Wilson, MS, RDN Senior Nutritionist