When a Pennsylvania dairy farm was instructed by their main distributor to dump the excess milk they would usually collect amid the CCP virus outbreak, the farmers rallied to come up with a less wasteful solution. The result of their efforts was a triumph of community spirit.
Whoa Nellie Dairy in Acme, Pennsylvania, posted their dilemma on Facebook on April 11, 2020. “As many of you know, all the excess milk we do not bottle is shipped to Schneider’s in Pittsburgh, PA,” the family-run dairy wrote. “They have just contacted us and told us they will not be picking up our milk on Wednesday or Friday.”
Dairy farmers Ben and Mary Beth Brown explained that in effect, they were being asked to dump 12 milkings’ worth of usable milk down the drain. “We are totally disgusted by this kind of waste,” they posted, adding, “We also do not get paid for the dumped milk, obviously.”
The Woah Nellie Dairy team then came up with an alternative plan. Determined not to waste a drop, the dairy decided to open up their own farm store, instead.
“We can only pasteurize and bottle 30 gallons at a time,” the Browns wrote, “but we are going to work around the clock to try and bottle as much as we can this week.”
Ben told Trib Live that the family farm has 200 cows, 70 of which are actively producing milk. “I don’t want us to go under,” he said. “This farm has been in the Brown family since the 1700s.”
On April 14, Ben’s fears were assuaged. A long line of customers in their cars lined up patiently outside Woah Nellie Dairy’s farm store. Additionally, the store had at least about 20 customers.
Many customers drove from far way in the cold just to help support their local dairy farmer to avoid dumping so much milk. They also adhered to social distancing guidelines and stayed at least 6 feet apart from each other. They waited patiently to not only buy milk but also other dairy products such as cheeses, cottage cheese, sour cream, and more.
Posting an update on the evening of April 14, the Browns described themselves as “stunned,” adding, “[t]he shock of the last couple days and the outpouring of love and support is something that we will not get over quickly!”
Before long, the sheer number of customers had far surpassed the dairy’s capacity. On just the third day of opening their farm store, it took only 90 minutes for the store’s refrigerator shelves to get empty.
“You all did it again,” the Woah Nellie team posted, “except this time we sold out by 1:30pm today!”
Later that same day, dairy staffers took to Facebook once again to “clear some things up” amid concerns that their distributor, Schneider’s, was the only company asking farmers to dump their excess milk.
“Three years ago when we started to bottle our own milk, the current milk company we were with at the time didn’t allow that. So we had 28 days to find a new milk company,” Woah Nellie’s explained. “Schneider’s Dairy stepped up and not only agreed to pick up our milk, but supported our dream of starting our own bottling operation [..]”
“We discovered today that people are thinking that Schneider’s is the only company asking farmers to dump milk,” staffers continued. “There are other milk companies following suit all over the United States.”
(Illustration - adtapon duangnim/Shutterstock)
The CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus, has disrupted food industry supply chains nationwide. Shannon Powers, press secretary for the Department of Agriculture, cited restaurant closures, diminished milk exports, and the closure of universities and schools as reasons for the dairy crisis, reported Trib Live.
Thinking long-term, Ben and Mary Beth Brown urged their followers to continue supporting their main distributor. Opening their own farm store, they said, was simply a way to stay true to their mission: not to waste good, usable milk.
“We knew we'd have to dig in and work hard and pray that the milk sold,” they concluded.
Hard work, prayer, and loyal support from the local community certainly paid off. Under the current economic circumstances, Pennsylvania’s Woah Nellie Dairy scored a triple triumph in finding a way to make sales, reach customers, and avoid dumping milk in the process.
The Browns are also paying it forward. According to WPXI, donations raised from Woah Nellie’s milk sales are going toward supplying bottled milk for needy families via Connellsville Ministries.
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