Miller Family Dairy in Crooked Oak cuts ribbon on new facility
Farming is a difficult industry to break into these days.
Not only does it take the actual land to build a farm on, but there is always a large upfront cost to obtain the necessary vehicles, equipment, buildings and people.
Most larger farms these days have been passed down across multiple generations.
However, new ventures are still being made even in this day and age.
Ventures like Miller Family Dairy in southern Colbert County in the Crooked Oak community.
Miller Family Dairy is an on-farm processor located at 6833 Waterloo Road producing Grade A pasteurized dairy products.
The Millers received a $1.9 million Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure (RFSI) program grant from the Alabama Department of Agriculture, which bought the necessary equipment to begin production.
According to the department, the purpose of RFSI program is to build resilience in the middle of the food supply chain, to provide more and better markets to small farms and food businesses, to support the development of value-added products for consumers, fair prices, fair wages, and new and safe job opportunities.
The farm held an official ribbon cutting on June 30, with visitors given a tour of the facility and attached farm store where goods from Miller and other local businesses are sold.
“We didn’t inherit this life; we’re a first-generation farm that started with a big dream on a tiny 1/3-acre subdivision lot,” according to the farm’s website. “Back then, we were packing rabbits, chickens, pigs, and goats into a subdivision backyard. In January 2020, we finally moved to our current farm—just as the world went crazy. It was a rough start, but God more than provided for us.
“A few months later, we bought our first dairy cow. It didn’t take long for us to realize that one cow wasn’t going to be enough — once we fell in love with the dairy life, we were all in. Now, we’re home to a growing herd of dairy girls.
Items like milk, cheese, candles, goat milk soap and other goods line the shelves of the farm store, which features goods made right at the Miller.
Jennilee Miller said the family pasteurizes its own milk and makes different cheese varieties, mostly of the cheddar type.
Craig Miller showed different plastic bottle sizes the operation can fill. He said he hopes one day that local children will have access to the farm’s dairy at school, saying what his family can provide is higher quality than what comes in a paper carton that most institutions use.
The farm store is open Mondays and Fridays 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays 8 a.m. to noon, Wednesdays 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and closed on Sundays.
