A Regional Creamery Helps Farmers

Twin Oaks Dairy in Mercersburg, PA connected with a local creamery in 2012. Mark Potter, the farmer at Twin Oaks, runs about 300 cows and sells his milk to Trickling Springs. The company started in 2001, and has in recent years, despite challenging markets.

The company has focused on developing regional markets, keeping farmers and customers close, which has helped minimize the impact of trade disputes on the prices they pay. Cows like these and farms like Twin Oaks are just part of the story that Trickling Springs is telling their customers, the other half takes us just a few minutes away to a creamery in Pennsylvania.

About 40 family farms sell to Trickling Springs, with an average herd size of 60 cows. And though Miller says he’s encountered some skepticism from farmers over the past two decades about the creamery’s staying power, focusing on their mission and product has helped them grow from a single retail shop to being available in more than 1700 locations throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.

Staying this close to the customer helps farmers stay out of the international turmoil that’s had dairy markets reeling, and keep a little bit more of the milk dollar in their pockets.

In addition to milk and chocolate milk, Trickling Springs also offers slow churn butter, heavy cream, and half and half. They also make ice cream, which they sell by the scoop in two new retail locations in Washington, DC.

- Sarah Mock