New dairy business starts during global pandemic
June 18, 2020 - The Farmer’s Pride, Abby Smoot
During a time when the world was at a pause, Legacy Dairy and the Jones family felt like they were on top of the world. Genelle, Doug, Ally and Jagger Jones live in the Hiseville community where they have just recently turned their dreams into a reality.
Dairy farms are some of the essential businesses in Kentucky lives. Research shows that there are about 850 dairy farms and 80,000 cows in the bluegrass state. Together, they produce 130 million gallons of milk per year.
In 2018 there were 600 dairy farms with a Grade A permit in Kentucky. According to the Kentucky Dairy Development Council, that number dropped to 513 by December 1, 2018. Dairy products are a staple in diets and dairy farmers work hard every day to provide fresh, wholesome, quality milk and dairy products to consumers.
Through the trying times of the dairy industry, the Jones family wanted to continue milking and raise a variety of dairy breeds. In 2013, they purchased a dairy farm that had sat unused for several years, cleaned up the facilities and started milking in 2014. After a structural fire in one of their facilities, they lost several pieces of equipment so in June 2016 they decided to close their parlor doors.
Ally graduated from Glasgow High School in May 2017 and attended University of Kentucky that upcoming fall.
“I vividly remember the day I called my dad in October 2017 and telling him I really want to milk again and he responded with ‘No Ally, that will never happen’ but I kept pushing the subject towards him,” said Ally.
She and her dad had many discussions about milking again but it wasn’t until a family friend who bottled her own milk in Alabama gave the family the idea and let them sell some milk in their local area.
The difficulties of the dairy industry result from a number of factors, but particularly the price of milk paid to dairy farmers. According to data from the National Family Farm Coalition, farmers are paid $1.45 on average per gallon of milk. With the uncertainty of the dairy industry, the Jones family was unsure of the direction to take. They visited other bottling and processing facilities to learn more about the process. The family decided to pursue the bottling business and started contacting banks for a loan.
“This process took seven to eight months to find a bank that would trust our business and the dairy industry,” said Jones.
On March 14, they were approved to fully process, bottle and sell their milk. This was only three days after the global pandemic was issued.
“It worked out perfectly for us to start as soon as the pandemic hit the United States,” said Jones. “We started bottling and selling our milk straight from the farm. Within five minutes a man from the grocery store that is within two miles of our facilities contacted me and asked if we could bring our milk to the store to sell. It was a huge hit.”
The Jones family supplied milk to their local IGA for the first three weeks of their opening since the other brands were selling out so quickly.
Supply and demand runs the economy and Legacy Dairy is willing to help meet demand. Legacy Dairy is fully run by family and each family member has their own role and to-do list each day. Teamwork is a main priority in their family and without it they would not be able to make the successes they have made over the past three months.
The family currently milks 11 head and plans to continue to add more Brown Swiss, which adds rich flavor.
“We will add other breeds as well but we do not want to lose our rich taste. That’s what keeps our customers happy and satisfied, said Ally."
