KINDERHOOK, NY — Dairy processor Maple Hill Creamery continues to embrace sustainable production practices to differentiate in the markets for fluid milk, yogurt, kefir and butter.

The cows used to produce the creamery’s milk are grass-fed, and Maple Hill, in conjunction with Organic Valley, La Farge, Wisconsin, developed a third-party certification standard to promote the 100% grass-fed status.

“What Maple Hill does is very different from conventional dairy,” said Jim Hau, president. “The company is on the cutting edge of the future of dairy. And our customers are self-driven seekers. They find Maple Hill on their own path. It usually starts with wanting the best for their kids.”  

The company’s origins are in cup-set yogurt, which debuted in 2009. In the beginning, Maple Hill offered fruit yogurts, but since, has returned to the basics to keep labels clean and simple. Recently redesigned packages feature the 100% grass-fed seal, which became available in 2019. Packages also highlight the company’s dedication to regenerative agriculture.

The phrase “grass fed” remains unregulated, and because all cows eat some grass, the term is used liberally by some marketers, said Tim Joseph, founder of Maple Hill Creamery. To obtain the seal, cows must have a 100% grass diet with zero grains and have plenty of pasture for grazing. There’s also full supply chain verification, and only certified organic farms can participate.

“We believe that 100% grass-fed organic dairy farming done right is the pinnacle of organic,” Joseph said. “It creates the best nutrition for consumers and leaves the soil better than we found it. It doesn’t get any better than that.”

Consumer demand for milk and meat produced from grass-fed cattle is growing, driven mostly by perceived health benefits and concerns about animal welfare, according to a study published Feb. 28, 2018, in the Journal of Food Science & Nutrition. In a US analysis of 1,163 milk samples collected over three years, researchers quantified the fatty acid profile in milk from cows fed a nearly 100% forage‐based diet (grass-fed diet) and compared it to profiles from a similar nationwide study of milk from cows under conventional and organic management.

Findings showed a notable difference in fat composition, with grass-fed milk containing more total omega-3 fatty acids, conjugated linoleic acid and long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. These are the fatty acids recognized as being good for the body.

“Because of often high per-capita dairy consumption relative to most other sources of omega-3 fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid, these differences in grass milk can help restore a historical balance of fatty acids and potentially reduce the risk of cardiovascular and other metabolic diseases,” according to the researchers.

The study results showed that when cows eat well, so do we, said Phyllis Van Amburgh, who, along with her husband Paul, owns Dharma Lea, a dairy farm within Maple Hill’s supply network. The two left non-agricultural careers 15 years ago to get into 100% grass-fed dairy farming.

They were the first of the 125 100% grass-fed farms in Maple Hill’s network in Upstate New York and Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. By the end of next year, the number is projected to be closer to 140, as more farms embrace the regenerative agriculture movement, according to Maple Hill.

The redesigned Maple Hill packages are phasing in now across the United States. They feature a photo of one of the cows on the Dharma Lea farm. The packages, especially the larger half-gallon fluid cartons, communicate the benefits of 100% grass fed, family farming and regenerative agriculture.

“We get right to the point,” Hau said. “The brand is growing up. We show a real cow, not some cartoon. And we explain that we could not provide 100% grass-fed dairy products without doing grass-fed farming right.”

Photo: Maple Hill Creamery