The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 76
T H E E X PA N S I O N O F
written by Jenny K. Boone
The beloved local
company is moving on
up, with a new production
facility nearly triple the
size of its current space.
76
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019
W
HEN TWO FRANKLIN County
dairy farmers decided to start a
business to sell their cow milk and help the
local economy, they never imagined that their
enterprise would swell to the size that it is
today.
Eighteen years af ter they opened
Homestead Creamery in 2001, the business
is nearly tripling the size of its production
facility in Burnt Chimney, due to demand for
milk, ice cream, eggnog, buttermilk, custard
and many more products.
The new facility, which is going up on
top of the original building, measures
about 22,000 square feet and has numerous
upgrades, including a machine that washes
12 milk bottles at one time, compared to only
four at a time with the former washer.
"We were to the point where we had to
expand to keep up with what we were doing,"
says Donnie Montgomery, co-founder of
Homestead Creamery and owner of Stoney
Brook Dairy, his family's farm in Wirtz.
Homestead Creamery has grown into
quite the dairy operation, producing up to
25,000 gallons of milk a week from four
farms and 400 cows. Its products are sold
in about 100 stores in Virginia and in other
grocers on the East Coast.
But selling milk wasn't the only focus
when Montgomery and David Bower, cofounder who owns Goldenview Dairy farm
in Glade Hill, originally opened Homestead
Creamery. They wanted to boost the local
economy.
At the time, Franklin County had a
concept plan for the Burnt Chimney area that
included adding jobs, infrastructure, and more
housing, Montgomery says.
"We felt like we could be a part of that,"
he says.
At the business's beginnings, the farmers
sold their own milk through a cooperative.
Their cows, combined, produced about 200
gallons of milk a week.
"We just produced what was needed for our
orders," Montgomery says. "We didn't bottle
it unless we had an order for it."
But demand grew quickly. Eventually,
Homestead picked up wholesale customers
and began selling products in convenience
stores.
Within Homestead's first year in business,
Kroger was selling its products.
The company's milk, available in half gallon
sizes, was a hit - likely because it was sold in
glass bottles, Montgomery says.
"That was something that hadn't been done
since the '60s in this area," he says. "That got
some people excited."
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The Roanoker - November/December 2019
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Roanoker - November/December 2019
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - Intro
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - Cover1
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - Cover2
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - 3
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The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - Cover3
The Roanoker - November/December 2019 - Cover4
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