Sisters Make Better Butter From Their Guernsey/Holstein Herd

Sisters Make Better Butter From Their Guernsey/Holstein Herd DAIRY EQUIPMENT & IDEAS In a state well known for its cheese a couple of sisters are making a name for themselves in the niche market of artisanal butter Julie and Jennifer Orchard co-own Royal Guernsey Creamery making butter with some milk from 150 cows on their Columbus Wis farm     Jennifer says that becoming a licensed buttermaker was a bit of a challenge in Wisconsin With a career in biotechnology she wanted to return to the farm and she and her sister decided butter was a good value-added option After consulting with the Center for Dairy Research the quickest path was to get licensed as a cheesemaker and then as a buttermaker     “They’re similar as food safety is of the utmost importance and just understanding the equipment ” Jennifer says who continues to make cheese to keep up her license Finding someone who could oversee her apprenticeship to earn her butter-making license took a couple of years     The sisters purchased equipment and in 2023 started making butter at a dairy plant in the area to save the cost of building a facility on the farm About 30 percent of the dairy herd’s cows are Guernseys 70 percent are Holsteins Beta-carotene isn’t absorbed by Guernseys which is the reason for the deep golden color of their butter     “We temper the cream differently with the slower European process that helps with spreadability We don’t add any water back so our fat content is at least 83 percent compared to the required 80 1 percent ” Jennifer says     “We feed and care for the cows ” Julie adds noting that only their farm’s milk is used in the butter She does daily chores oversees cattle health and marketing for the business and helps make the butter     They haul the milk to the plant separate the cream and pasteurize it on Tuesday night The cream tempers to be slow churned into 400 lbs of butter on Thursday and packaged on Friday     The 8 oz sticks are hand-weighed and shaped round before being wrapped in gold foil     “Foil is the gold standard in packaging to not pick up off flavors from the freezer ” Jennifer says They freeze all their butter before shipping and recommend customers freeze it until they’re ready to use it to maintain the flavor and quality     In 2023 Royal Guernsey Creamery butter earned grand champion at the Wisconsin State Fair Through their website and social media they ship all over the U S with especially strong sales in California Washington Florida and Texas Foodies and people with connections to Wisconsin and Guernsey cattle are especially interested in the artisanal butter     Besides regular salted butter their Signature butter with roasted garlic cracked black pepper and parsley is very popular There are also sweet cinnamon and unsalted butter options; all sell for $7 99/8 oz They also sell cheese and gift boxes     “Our butter boxes are our No 1 seller ” Julie says “We also ship holiday boxes ”     Royal Guernsey butter can be found in several Wisconsin stores and the sisters plan to open the Butter Barn their own storefront to sell their products directly from the farm this fall     “It’s nice to reach the consumer directly ” Julie says “We’ve had lots of community support ”     Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Royal Guernsey Creamery W11674 Duffy Rd Columbus Wis 53925 ph 262-490-3506; info@royalguernseycreamery com; www royalguernseycreamery com

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