Star Patches Views

General Goods

In a classic example of the old adage, the neighbor sent Elly home with not just a bottle of milk, but a way to milk for herself. “I just wanted milk and I wound up with a doe and two babies, ” Elly recalls. And milk she did. Today, Patches of Star dairy produces 13,500 gallons of milk a year, which Elly sells direct to consumers as yogurt, soft cheeses, feta, and in its raw form, literally. As a licensed manufacturer of raw milk and raw milk products, Elly is able to supply a fast-growing niche of health-conscious customers with the pure, unadulterated food they so desire.

In 2001, Patches of Star dairy became licensed to sell raw milk. They were working on leased property, their new barn was unfinished and the cheese room was not yet completed to spec, but bacteria and coliform counts were so low from milking parlor to finished product in three consecutive tests, the authorities had no reason not to pass Patches of Star with flying colors.

Today, Patches of Star milk is tested three times a month and Elly participates in the Dairy Herd Improvement Registry (DHIR) program, which not only ensures the quality of her product but also helps her make decisions about her herd based on the genetic profiles of the lines. A trained supervisor comes out to the farm and checks that each animal has a tag number, then watches each animal through the milking process and weighs and records her production.

Patches of Star lines have been on record for the past eight years, which amounts to much more genetic information than Elly always uses, but, she says, the program has saved her time and money in the long run. t“They can tell you if you breed this goat to that goat you will get a very good or very weak animal according to the percentages. We did it by hand for a long time, but, at a point, it just gets too complex.i”