Many farmers find that vertically integrating their product lines is an excellent way to increase profitability. In the case of Pat and Sharlene Daninger, owners of the Autumnwood Farm in Forest Lake, Minnesota, it’s saved the farm that’s been in their family for 100 years.

The Daningers decided to open an organic creamery on-site, and after just six months in operation they are selling around 500 gallons of milk a week. A dozen stores in Minneapolis sell their products, and there is also a retail shop at the farm itself, stocked with half-gallon bottles of milk and chocolate milk.

Locally-produced and hormone-free, the Daninger’s creamery experiment has been a lot of work. “We knew how to get the milk out of the cows, but nothing about processing,” Pat Daninger said. “It’s labor-intensive. But to hear people say, ‘This is the best milk I’ve had,’ that makes you feel like you’re doing a service to the community.”

Pat Daninger’s family has worked Autumnwood Farm since 1982, when his grandparents immigrated from Austria. Pat and Sharlene took over in 1982 – and realized that they would need to enhance the farm’s revenue stream to keep afloat. Expanding their dairy farm was one option – but when your farm is surrounded by suburban development, additional acreage is impossible to acquire. However, the Daninger’s realized that their problem was also their opportunity – all those houses, all those people, were customers for the products they produced on their farm. While giving tours of the farm to local schools, the question kept coming up – “can we buy milk from your farm?”

That inspired the creamery venture. It took a lot of research and planning, and a $500,000 mortgage, but the Daninger’s are now in the finished milk business using their own dairy herd as the raw material. The Daninger’s teenage children help with deliveries, manning the store, and stocking. 14-year old son Nathan was even moved to start his own beef operation, selling the meat in the family store.

Next time you have a nice glass of milk, raise a glass to the Daninger’s and their venture. It’s exciting to see farmers getting control of the process and ensuring their own financial futures.