Questions & answers

There are two types of protein in milk, A1 and A2. A2A2 milk has been known for some people to be easier to digest than regular store milk. There is no difference in taste, color or nutrition, as it is only a different protein. Also, it is NOT lactose free. Lactose is the name for the natural sugar that is in milk. Michael Martin tested all his cows and sold all the ones that did not have the A2A2 gene.

Most processors put the milk through a homogenizer, which breaks the fat molecules into smaller particles so the fat stays suspended in the milk. But naturally the cream in cow’s milk will float to the top after not being stirred for 30 minutes. We do NOT homogenize our milk, so the cream will rise to the top — which is why we call it creamline, or some call it creamtop. Look for the distinctive creamline at the top of our milk bottles. All you have to do is shake it up well before you pour. If it has been sitting on the store shelf for a week, the cream gets very thick and is harder to mix up. Having grown up on a dairy farm where we got our raw milk right out of the bulk tank, we always had to shake it up before we poured our milk — or one person got all the cream and our siblings got to drink the skim.

Yes. The state of Wisconsin does not allow raw milk sales. But there are different methods of pasteurization.

• Vat pasteurized (what we use): Our 300 gallon pasteurizer is like a big kettle where we heat the milk to 145°F and hold it there for 30 minutes before cooling it to 45°F before we bottle it.
• High Temperature Short Time (HTST): Milk is pumped through a tube where it is heated to a minimum of 161°F for 15 seconds.
• Ultra High Temperature (UHT): Milk is heated to a minimum of 282°F for 0.5 seconds, which gives it a 6 month shelf life but can also give it a scorched taste.

We wanted to bottle milk that would be as close to raw milk as possible but also meet all the requirements of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.

We pick up our milk with a little milk truck with an 800 gallon tank on the back, and bring it to our facility. Every load of milk is tested for antibiotics before we pump it through a milk filter to make sure the milk is free of any dirt. Then we pasteurize it at 145°F, cool it down to at least 45°F before we bottle it and put it in the cooler, then it gets delivered to the grocery store in a refrigerated reefer truck. We like to hear from our customers — let us know if you have questions.