Homeland Creamery delivery truck

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Takeaway: Homeland Creamery in Julian is a multi-generational dairy conscientiously producing and selling milk, butter and ice cream, among other dairy products. Though they sell through many outlets in the Triad, a trip to their onsite store is a special treat suitable for the whole family.

When you meet Paige from Homeland Creamery, her love for being on her family’s farm is manifest in her enthusiasm for teaching everyone where milk comes from and extends to her sincerity in making sure the cows live as peacefully as possible. She is representative of all the responsible young farmers and families dedicating their lives to bring us good, safe food.

Paige’s great grandfather had a special treat waiting for his sons when they returned from World War I—dairy cows. They milked the first ones by hand, but have long since upgraded to fully automated milking systems for milk their herd of 150 to 200 Jersey and Holstein cows.

Fans cooling the cows

The ladies sleep in an open-sided barn, outfitted with some super fans that keep them comfortable as they lay on a foot or so of sawdust that gets changed daily. The barn and milking parlor are kept quiet; the dairy manager doesn’t allow whistling or music in order to maintain the calmest environment possible.

The cows spend about 20 to 30 minutes of their day in the milk parlor, split into
a morning and evening milking. Other than that and spending their evenings in the barn, they graze in the pasture.

Homeland Creamery Cows, out standing in their field.

In 2002 they began bottling milk at their newly installed onsite creamery. From 30 gallons that first week, they now process about 750 gallons per day. The onsite creamery allows them to process their milk into three different grades of milk, plus butter, ice cream, buttermilk, chocolate milk, cream and some specialty items like eggnog for the holidays. Paige and her mother Jayne credit Maple View Farm in Hillsborough with providing them with essential knowledge about running their own creamery.

They deliver as far as Raleigh and Winston-Salem to about 200 retail customers, from Whole Foods to local coffee shops like the Green Bean. In addition to their commercial sales, they also have a small shop onsite where they sell their products, including ice cream by the scoop.

If you’re interested in learning more about where your milk comes from, I highly recommend one of their tours. If you don’t have time for a tour, a trip to their shop for a cone is a great treat and well-worth the drive.

Please call ahead for tour reservations!

Where to find them:

Homeland Creamery
6506 Bowman Dairy Rd.
Julian, NC 27283

http://www.homelandcreamery.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Homeland-Creamery/217675458343

2014 Summer Hours:
Monday-Thursday: 9-6
Friday & Saturday: 9-9
Sunday: 1-9