Minimally processed, safe, fresh milk.
Farm Life Creamery is proud to be the only small, on-farm, Grade A licensed bottling plant in South Dakota. Our Holstein cows’ milk is gently pasteurized—low and slow—so it stays as close to its natural state as possible. The cream rises to the top because we don’t homogenize, meaning you can shake it up and enjoy the freshest flavor. When you choose our minimally processed milk, you’re giving your family a safe, natural option straight from our farm to your table.
Farm Life Creamery’s milk is available at our Farm Store in Ethan, and at many local retailers—making it easy to bring home a truly natural option.
Nonhomogenized = Cream Rises!
At Farm Life Creamery, we bottle “cream-line” milk—the most natural form of milk. Although it’s gently pasteurized for safety, it’s never homogenized, so the cream naturally rises to the top. Homogenization breaks down fat molecules under high pressure, potentially destroying beneficial enzymes, altering flavor, and making milk harder on digestion. Because we skip that step, our customers often find they can enjoy our milk without any discomfort.
We also keep our ingredients simple. For example, our chocolate milk includes only milk, cocoa, and sugar—no artificial thickeners or stabilizers—so you’ll see the chocolate settle at the bottom of the bottle. Just shake it up and enjoy the pure taste of Farm Life Creamery milk!
Pasteurized Low and Slow.
At Farm Life Creamery, all of our milk comes directly from Gary & Amy Blase’s family-owned Holstein herd—a Grade A milk source maintained for over 40 years. Bottling our milk within hours of milking ensures unbeatable freshness. We use small-batch, “old-fashioned” vat pasteurization, heating the milk to 145°F for 30 minutes. This careful, low-and-slow process retains more natural enzymes and flavor—qualities often lost in the high-heat methods used by many other brands. By keeping our operation on the farm and in small batches, we guarantee exceptional quality controland the truest taste of wholesome, farm-fresh milk.
Bottled in small batches.
Small batch processing ensures exemplary quality control. The natural, wholesome qualities of farm-fresh milk are retained in everything we do to get our milk to your table. We have a small, single head bottler in our Grade A licensed facility, and we personally fill each bottle. We bottle less milk, more often to make sure you are always getting the freshest milk possible.
Our milk shows a 10 day "Sell by" date on each bottle. This doesn't mean it's "bad" on that date, we just want it to move off the store shelf to your home by then! Go by taste and smell when it gets to your refrigerator, but remember, it's natural! Our milk is NOT ultra-pasteurized just to extend shelf life.
We only offer Whole Grade A milk. We don't separate into the other forms (2%, 1%, skim). We simply offer a pure, simple, natural version of cow's milk, in it's natural form.
Our Family's Holstein Herd
Gary & Amy Blase (Gee-Aye Registered Holsteins) both grew up on dairy farms, and started their own together in 1972! They switched to Lely robotic milkers in 2012. The family's Holstein herd is allowed the freedom to decide when to eat, drink, relax or be milked. The cows are housed in a free-stall barn and their bedding contains about 12 inches of sand to keep them comfortable and clean. The cows are offered free-choice feed throughout the day, which includes a mixture of home-grown forages. Their diets are balanced by the farm's nutritionist.
The Blase family has always loved working with high producing, good genetic cows and strive to take the best care of their herd. They have maintained a Grade A producer license throughout all of their 40+ years of milking. All of the milk we use at Farm Life Creamery only travels 3 miles to get to our processing facility, and it all comes from our one herd of cows, allowing us to control the source.
Learn more about our history here: ABOUT US
Learn more about Lely Robotic Milkers here: videos
