Nephews buy, keep dairy farm operating
Dakin family still runs Manatee County staple
Jerry Dakin’s dairy is staying in the family, and the Manatee County staple has been sold to his four nephews.
The dairy has been in the community for decades, and that will continue now that it has passed on to the next generation of Dakin family dairymen, Jason, Garrett, Grant and Ethan.
The four brothers took over operations at the facility on May 1. It is the third property under their direct ownership across Manatee and DeSoto counties.
“We’ve been in the dairy business since we were kids, it’s our passion,” Grant Dakin said. “We were born and raised on the farm. It made us who we are today.”
Former owner Jerry Dakin — who was named Florida Farmer of the Year in 2021 — is now focusing on a compost business called Dakin Natural Soils. He still spends much of his time at the dairy, helping with operations and providing tutelage.
“Crying, yelling, screaming and cursing, we’ve gone through it all,” Jerry said. “When we bought it, all we had was fencing and the little house up there. The fence is gone but the house is still there. It’s been a total change to be here and build the plant, and it will be a great thing to see my nephews take it to the next level.”
“That looks like new AI technology, it looks like new products and higher qualities,” he said. “It’s them creating new markets. They have so much more volume of milk that they have a big opportunity to expand.”
The four brothers learned about the dairy business from their father, Cameron, and their uncles Jerry and the late Farren — who learned how to farm from their own father Pete.
In all, the Dakin family owns about 5,000 cows, and purchase of Dakin Dairy gives the four men an opportunity to produce milk and milk products from start to finish. The dairy currently produces fluid milk, flavored milk, heavy cream, and buttermilk that is sold statewide. A contractor also produces cheese products at the dairy as well.
“This facility has a plant, that’s something we didn’t already have,” Grant said. “We’ve been selling to a coop, so owning a plant gives us an opportunity to be self sufficient. We’ve never been in the bottling side of this, this has always been my uncle’s thing.”
Grant said they are proud to continue the family legacy and to do their part to protect some of Manatee County’s agricultural lands from development.
“We’ve seen over the years that agriculture in Florida is just depleting,” Grant said. “It’s been pushed out by homes, high priced land and things like solar panels. We saw the community didn’t want it to go to development and we didn’t want to see it go that way either. So it was our way to keep it going in agriculture and give back to the community.”