Rural Missouri - November 2020 - 33

Opposite page, clockwise from top left: Black-and-white Holsteins make up the majority of the 500-head herd at Shatto Milk Co. The
technology may have changed over the course of 80 years, but milking is still an early-morning operation. Two rounds of cheese on otherwise empty
racks speak to the local demand for Shatto's products. Known for their amusing bottle labels and semitruck trailers, the dairy tries to keep a smile
on visitors' faces even during uncertain times. Crates of bottles are out the door for delivery almost as soon as they make it in to the cold storage
room. Bottles speed their way through the dairy to be filled. Bottom left: Shatto upped their delivery fleet by three trucks to meet demand for
local grocery stores in northwest Missouri plus coffee houses, convenience stores and a robust home delivery network. Bottom right: Whichever flavor is your favorite, Shatto Milk Co.'s flagship bottled products stand out on the refrigerator shelf. Center: The dairy, located along Highway
33 in Osborn, remains open for visitor tours five days a week.
"Milk just tastes better in a glass bottle," Barb says with
a laugh. "It's colder, it lasts longer and it doesn't pick up
the taste of plastic."
This year the company added a 12-ounce, single-serving bottle to its product line which
includes gallon, half-gallon and
pint bottles. Each bottle except the
12-ounce adds a $2 deposit to the purchase price, but customers are willing
to pay for the perk of buying a recyclable container. Shatto cleans and reuses
them as often as customers resupply
the dairy with empties.
"We keep an eye out for ways we
can be environmentally friendly," Barb
adds. "We use washcloths between the
udders and teats instead of paper towels that go in the landfill."
In addition to whole, 2%, 1% and
skim milk and half-and-half and whole
cream, Shatto makes seven flavored
types of milk plus five powdered "flavorizers." Flavors range from the traditional such as strawberry to the adventurous such as cookies and cream. The
second most popular flavored variety - after chocolate, of
course - may surprise people, until they try it.
"Root Beer was kind of a surprise for us," Barb laughs.

"We took it to a fall festival in Plattsburg and people went
crazy for it. Then we started getting calls about when we
were making more."
The Shattos also are known to get creative on holidays
- Pumpkin Spice Egg Nog is a bestseller during the fall - and special
occasions. Cotton Candy and Red Velvet were bottled when the Royals and
Chiefs brought home their respective
championships, and Cotton Candy
stayed on the permanent roster.
The dairy is open to tours five days
a week. Visitors and employees wear
masks and group sizes are downsized
to make social distancing easier. It's a
far cry from the days of 100-plus kids
visiting on a field trip, but it's all in an
effort to keep guests safe and the dairy
accessible.
"We're not going to be a huge conglomerate," Barb says. "We want to be
a family farm where people know us.
Shatto Milk Co. is open from 9 a.m. to
5 p.m Monday through Saturday. Tours
are available Tuesday through Saturday. For tour hours,
call 816-930-3862, visit www.shattomilk.com or follow
Shatto Milk Company on Facebook.

NOVEMBER 2020 | RURALMISSOURI.COOP

http://www.shattomilk.com http://www.RURALMISSOURI.COOP

Rural Missouri - November 2020

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