Linking the consumer to the farm

ATKINS, Iowa — On July 1, 2023, Iowa passed Senate File 315, setting in motion a new movement in dairy consumption in the state. It legalized the sale of raw milk under certain conditions and enabled dairy farmers like Jay and Barb Schanbacher to diversify their market.

The Schanbachers own and operate Schanbacher Acres Inc., milking 170 cows near Atkins. Jay is a third-generation dairy producer. Barb grew up on a dairy farm until she was 8 and then returned to dairy life when she married Jay 25 years ago. Last August, the couple started a four-cow micro-dairy named Atkins Raw Milk Dairy.

At Schanbacher Acres, Jay and Barb and their hired help milk in a swing-20 parlor. With the opening of the micro-dairy, Jay and Barb retrofitted a 36-stall tiestall barn to work as a swing-5 parlor for their four cows at the location they used to raise heifers. They used leftover parts from three parlor remodels at the conventional dairy to put the framework in place for the smaller, specialized space, and purchased a 150-gallon bulk talk.

“We saw the demand for raw milk even before it was legal,” Jay said. “We’d have people stop at the other farm and ask if they could buy the milk from us on the spot and we always had to turn them away.”

Their location put them in a spot where traffic on the farm was common as the trend of direct sales was beginning to take hold.

“We’re in a great location, right off of the highway and near Bloomsbury Farm,” Barb said. “There’s a market for it … but I also think COVID changed a lot of people’s minds about the supply chain and where your food comes from.”

Atkins Raw Milk Dairy specializes in A2A2 milk. Along with half-gallon jars of milk, consumers can also purchase Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, fresh cheese curds, homemade butter, whey protein powder, fresh mozzarella and liquid whey, all made with raw milk by Jay’s brother, Jeff. Customers can also purchase hamburger and eggs from farms owned by Schanbacher family members.

Jeff milked on the current site of Atkins Raw Milk Dairy before becoming a Lutheran pastor in 1999. Since then, Jay and Barb used the facility as a site to raise their heifers before retrofitting the barn for the micro-dairy.

“We did a genetic audit at Schanbacher Acres and found out that we had a significant amount of cows that were A2A2.” Jay said. “We targeted only our A2A2 cows to bring over to Atkins Raw Milk Dairy and we target our animals that have high component numbers.”

Those component numbers bring in athletes and fitness enthusiasts.

“A demographic I was not expecting was the gym and fitness people,” Jay said. “We have bodybuilder types, athletes from all levels who are eager to use our product.” 

Along with the added benefits from the milk itself, Jay and Barb have grown to enjoy the interaction they have with customers. This includes taking prospective customers through an onboarding process when they are interested in purchasing milk and educating consumers on the product they are potentially consuming.

“I’ve probably on-boarded nearly 500 people since we opened,” Barb said. “When a new person wants to come in and buy raw milk, I meet with them personally to answer any questions they might have, show them our operation, whatever they might need. That helps us get to know them, and they get to know us.”

On their farm, consumers know who, what, where, when and how the product was produced.

“It’s great to have a face to connect with,” Barb said. “I’m always open to conversations with them. If they need anything, they can always call me or text me. We’re here for them.”

Jay also expressed his appreciation for direct-to-consumer sales. 

“I like connecting with people, which was a lot different than before when I was working by myself on the farm,” Jay said. “It was different when you put the milk in the tank, milkman comes, milk goes away. Now we see a completely different level of appreciation from our customers.”

Connection and transparency in the product are two elements of production that are the driving factors behind Atkins Raw Milk Dairy.

“I think that’s why a fair amount of people come to get raw milk,” Jay said. “They feel that there’s this gray box that they don’t know anything about between the farm and the store. Creating that connection has been important to us.”