When I was a kid, a really long time ago, we had a milkman named Ward Wolcott. Ward brought our milk to the house in glass bottles and put it in a little insulated box on the porch. My mother planned her errands around the milk delivery so it would not be outside too long and get hot or freeze.
The day of milk delivery is back. If you are not acquainted with
Keely Farms Dairy you should be! The dairy produces fresh milk from their own herd of Jersey Cows...there are 70 in all and I was pleasantly surprised to discover they all have names. These cows remain on the farm for life.
During my visit there was an abundance of calves roaming around, in the middle of all that a dog named Bruno. Why, Bruno keeps the coyotes away from the calves. No need to shoot the coyotes, they have Bruno!
There are chickens, pigs and ducks. All are roaming around free, well in a fence but free to wander. The pigs roam around into the woods and hang out and do whatever pigs do.
Back to the cows.
Click here to read about them and how the dairy is operated. It is quite fascinating and refreshing to see. These cows all look pretty happy, I petted a few and felt pretty good about drinking the milk, which by the way is delicious. They even have a biodigester that produces their own fertilizer from manure. Keely told me they hope to be recovering methane soon that will help power the farm.
You can also get fresh, locally grown produce delivered to your door, all grown at Tomazin Farms in Samsula. The produce box is packed with in season vegetables. I got one today and it is fantastic, a wide variety of vegetables, grown right here, picked fresh and delivered.
They also have farm fresh eggs available to purchase along with yogurt, cream cheese, kefir and more. Get the whole
list here.
They have meat available, beef, pork and lamb. The Berkshire Pork is grown right there on the farm but the beef is from other local farms which also operate in a sustainable, responsible manner. Her much loved dairy cows are off limits. Just email Keely and let her know what you want.
If you want to visit the farm they are open from 7:00 am-7:00 pm. You can watch the milking from 5:00-7:00 pm daily.
More information here.
You can order products by emailing Keely at Keely2682@aol.com. You can also go right out to the farm and purchase eggs, milk and other dairy products. The produce needs to be ordered a day ahead so it can be picked and packed and all that.
Yes, you can buy organic eggs, milk, and vegetables at grocery stores, you can even have it delivered by local services. You never really know where it comes from and I am confident you are not ever going to be able to talk to the person who grew it, named the cows or fed the chickens and pigs if you get it from a grocery or other service. At Keely Farms Dairy you can not only talk to the person who named the cow, but probably pet the cow that produced the milk. I think that is great!
Keely Famrs Dairy is located at 2431 S. Glencoe Rd in New Smyrna Beach.
P.S. The Federal Pasteurized Milk Ordinance and Florida Statute 502.091 forbids the sale of unpasteurized milk products for human consumption. All Keely Farms products are labeled. "Not for Human Consumption" "sold as a treat for all pets"
