Holmes County Guernseys are key to Origin Milk’s products
A Cleveland-based Origin Milk is relying on Guernsey cows from dairy farms in Holmes County to produce milk being sold in Northeast Ohio grocery stores, including local Fishers Foods and Acme stores. The milk contains only A2 proteins, which is different from most milk found sold in stores.
Chicory, plenty of clover, and orchard and rye grasses cover the hillside. The three dozen Guernseys roaming a penned-off section of the hillside seem to love the mixture. The cows have spent a day in the section and the grass is already trimmed down compared with other parts of the pasture.
Aden Yoder said he seeds with the different grass varieties because the Guernseys like it. If the cows were roaming free, they might nibble at one plant and then another to get a variety of tastes, he said. It’s a good mixture for the cows, he said, keeping them healthy and helping them produce more nutritious milk.
Yoder has been a dairy farmer since 2004, working land that has been in his family for a century or so. He started off with a herd of Holsteins, the breed traditionally used by dairy farmers.
About 18 months ago, Yoder switched from Holsteins to Guernseys after talking with Edward Keim, another Holmes County farmer. Keim had teamed with a Cleveland businessman, Adrian Bota, who wanted to introduce milk produced by Guernseys to the area because their milk contains primarily A2 protein, a form of the primary protein found in milk produced by mammals. A2 is developing a following among those who say it is better for human consumption.
Milk market conditions were poor, and Yoder realized he had a chance at earning more income if he started Bota raising Guernseys.
Bota was starting Origin Milk Co. As a co-owner of the Piccadilly Artisan Creamery and Artisan Yogurt shops in Cleveland, Bota had researched ways to source local milk for ice cream and yogurt. That is how he learned about milk proteins and Guernsey cows.
“I’m passionate about what my family eats and drinks,” he said.
Cows’ milk has been a staple for centuries, and most cows produce milk with A1 and A2 proteins. The primary protein in most milk sold around the country is A1.
Researchers started in the 1980s studying the different components in milk and how they might affect digestion. Scientists noted the difference between A1 and A2, and that led to speculation that A2 proteins might be easier to digest.
A variety of studies into the health impacts have been inconclusive, but the research sparked interest in producing and selling milk with only A2 protein.
Bota said he was drawn to Guernsey milk because it has the original taste, original nutrition, original genetics of milk, plus a creamy texture — or as he put it, it’s the whole package.
“It’s milk as it should be,” he said.
Besides its nutritional properties, its notable difference is a golden hue — possibly because of high levels of betacarotene — compared with milk from Holsteins.
Origin Milk is processed in Paint Valley as whole milk, 2 percent and skim, as well as chocolate. The company also has sold heavy cream, halfand-half and cheese. The milk is non-homogenized and lowheat pasteurized.
The milk is sold for $5.49 in half gallons and $1.99 in pint sizes at Fishers Foods and Acme stores in Stark County. It also is found at Heinen’s grocery stores in the greater Cleveland area, Mustard Seed stores in Summit County and some Buehler’s locations.