Kalispell Kreamery FAQ's

1. Is your milk antibiotic and hormone free? [+]
- Yes, All the milk products from Kalispell Kreamery are 100% free of antibiotics and added hormones. Our cows are completely natural. We have been in the dairy business long enough to know that by treating our cows well they stay healthy and produce plenty of milk for us naturally. Please see our dairy practices page for more info.
2. Is your milk raw? [+]
- No, our milk is pasteurized to kill any possible harmful pathogens that may have entered the milk through handling (we are required to do so by state law). Our milk is not homogenized however, allowing the milk and cream to separate. This is called cream-on-top milk. We process and transport our milk as little as possible to ensure its freshness and quality. For your information- Milk is perfect when it comes from the cow, it is everything that is done with it afterwards that degrades it (introduces bacteria and such)See the Cream-on-Top page.
3. Are your cows grass/pasture fed? [+]
- Sometimes. All of our heifers are on pasture and are fed free choice grass hay. Every year, each milk cow gets a three month vacation where they are on pasture and free choice grass hay. While being milked they are fed a free choice mixed ration of alfalfa and grain. This insures that they receive all the nutrients they need to produce. Holstein’s are bred to produce large volumes of milk and can become malnourished very quickly if they do not receive the proper feed ration. There is a couple reasons that pasture feeding does not work for us: We do not have enough pasture to ensure that all 150 milk cows would receive enough food to keep them healthy. Our milk and cows are healthy because we keep everything as clean as possible, mud and limited space does not allow us to keep our cows and milk as clean as we would like. In Montana, there are only 4-5 months (at best) that the cows could utilize pasture, they have to be fed the other 7-8 months out of the year.
4. How long does your milk last? [+]
- We are mandated by the state to have a 12 day sell by date from pasteurization. That is only the sell by date; our milk is good for about 10-15 days after that date. The FDA recommends consuming your milk 7 days after opening. We suggest the sniff test;)
5. Where are you located? [+]
- We are located 4 miles north of West Valley School, off Farm to Market Rd, on Lost Creek Dr. Please see our contact us page for a map.
6. What is your reduced fat milk? [+]
- In an effort to process our milk as little as possible and use as little energy as possible we let gravity do the separating for us, whenever possible. The raw milk separates in the bulk tank and we pull the milk from the bottom when the cream count in around a 1%-2%. Because it is nearly impossible to get exactly a 1% or 2% cream content this way we call it reduced fat.
7. Is your milk Organic? [+]
- No, but we are all natural. There are a couple of reasons we are not Organic. The primary reason we are not organic is that we do not feed our cows organic feed. In an effort to make our milk affordable to everyone, we decided that purchasing high-priced organic feed would make our milk to expensive for everyone to enjoy. We do buy our hay locally. If you read the packaging for most organic milk- it is ultra-pasteurized. We feel that this over processing of the milk degrades the quality of an otherwise perfect food.
8. Why is there not more cream on top of your milk? [+]
- It seems that everyone remembers going out on the doorstep, picking up the glass bottle that the milk man dropped off in the early morning, and seeing the bottle half full of the yummy golden cream they desired for their cereal. In reality, our Holsteins produce 4% butterfat (cream), which is high for Holsteins. If let set to separate completely our milk will show 4% cream and 96% milk. So the answer is- We do not take any cream from the whole milk- it comes straight from the cow to you. Let it set (in the fridge, of course) for over 24 hours to yield the most cream. The longer is sets, the more it separates. This helps explain why heavy whip cream and butter are so expensive- we only get to use 4% of very gallon to make them. Keep in mind that different cow breeds yield different butterfat percentages, but the average is 4-7%.
9. Do you offer glass bottles? [+]
- We are working on it. We have planned to offer glass bottles from the very beginning; it is just a matter of getting the needed equipment at the right price and working out all the logistics. We are hoping to offer them within the year.
10. Do the cows like to be milked? [+]
- Yes. Cows are trained to be milked just like we train horses to be ridden or a dog to sit. We keep the milk barn and process very relaxed, comfortable, and routine so the cows have nothing to fear and are not anxious. The cows willingly go in the milk barn and get milked. We do not use shock sticks or force on the cows! Cows that are forced, uncomfortable, or scared do not let their milk down and will not go in the barn willingly the next time. It is hard to get a 2,000 lb animal to do something it does not want to. We have milk machines that we put on the cows. They work like a vacuum that massages and sucks the milk out and puts it in a big bulk tank. Many times the cows doze during the whole process. It takes about 20 minutes to milk a cow. See the milk process page for more information.
11. Are there any work oppurtunities available? [+]
- We have many oppurtunities to offer. For more information fill out this questionaire and email, fax, or mail it back to us. Our contact information is located on the contact us page.