Milk comes from animals. Not nuts. Amish dairy farmers have animals to care for, not trees to prune. In some circles, these are “fightin’ words” but this article is truly not meant to stir up any trouble. Still, with the American public increasingly drinking less dairy, and instead experimenting with almond, oat, soy, rice, or other blends as alternatives, the local dairy industry felt the need to fight back a little.
In 2019, a local “English” (non-Amish) dairy farmer named Nelson Troutman decided to set up some signage-adorned hay bales along the road by his farm to extol the virtues of real, whole, milk. These “Bale-Boards” proved to be a real draw, with motorists taking note, honking their approval, or just commenting positively to him when seeing him out and about. A grassroots movement had inadvertently been planted.
Through organic growth, the movement caught on, and other dairy farmers began setting up “bale-boards” of their own. This included Amish dairy farmers who wanted to help get the message out that real, whole, milk has unique health benefits that nut juice just doesn’t offer.
The first official meeting of what became to be known as “97 Milk” took place not long after, with 25 dairy farmers present. From that brainstorming session came various efforts. The first was setting up a website, www.97milk.com. Then, social media platforms followed, and eventually a full-fledged marketing campaign was launched with the farmers funding the efforts themselves.
Most recently, 97 Milk partnered with local food outreach ministry Blessings of Hope to provide Blessings with a consistent supply of whole milk for their efforts. Organizations that receive food from Blessings of Hope (food banks, homeless shelters, transitional living programs, community centers, etc.) can now receive gallon jugs of whole milk in their boxes, to be supplied to the people they serve. This milk is provided by 97 Milk, and their member-farmers, to ensure that the underserved in the community have access to the excellent health and nutritional benefits of real, whole milk.
When you do buy milk at the grocery store, if you want to know where it actually came from, here’s how to tell: To see where your milk was bottled, check the plant code stamp on the top of the milk bottle near the expiration date. Sometimes the plant code is instead printed on the label. Plug the number into this website to see where it was bottled: www.WheresMyMilkFrom.com. The first two numbers of the plant code represent the state. Pennsylvania is “42” so if the number starts with 42, it is PA milk.
Today, 97 Milk is run by 6 board members, with help from many dairy farmers (and other non-dairy agricultural businesses too for that matter.) The goal for 97 Milk is to share milk facts with consumers, share the dedication and passion of family-owned dairy farmers and help answer milk questions from the American consumer. Getting in touch with 97 Milk is easy. Visit their website, www.97milk.com, or follow them on social media, or write them the old-fashioned way to PO BOX 87, Bird in Hand, PA 17505.
— Clinton Martin