Inc. Innovator Update:
Red Barn Family Farms finds an audience

Young family dairy company gains retail and academic customers

By Maureen Wallenfang • Post-Crescent staff writer • September 7, 2009

APPLETON — In the eyes of Terry and Paula Homan, the success of their small Red Barn Family Farms dairy company isn't measured in gallons of milk. Or in taking a paycheck, which has yet to happen.

It's in keeping true to their original goal of bringing ethically and sustainably produced milk from family farms to the market.

“These farms represent the excellence of our state's heritage,” said Terry Homan, who also is a large animal veterinarian and partner in the Valley Veterinary Clinic in Seymour. “The mission is to establish this style of farming for the future.”

The ethics-based message has reached an appreciate audience, however, and in the last year their handful of retail outlets expanded to more than two dozen and single academic account expanded to four.

“Our company has made huge strides in the past year, more than doubling our business, expanding our product line and becoming vendors of the three major food management companies,” said Paula Homan, who handles the company's marketing.

At the core of the young Red Barn business is the fundamental belief that the best cared for animals produce the best milk, and that the family farms' commitment to quality and care should be rewarded and preserved.

The Homans wanted to connect people to the source of their food, even to the point of taking Lawrence University city-raised students to a family farm so they could see the path of the milk from cows to their college.

“In the beginning, our goal was to give small family farms a place in the marketplace. As many of them as we could,” said Paula. “When UW-Oshkosh let us know late last week they would be using our milk for the upcoming school year, that means we'll be adding one more small family farm.”

Terry Homan personally selected the farms that would supply Red Barn based on the quality of their care for the cows. The American Humane Association validates the farms, and the milk is rBST hormone free.

Bob Nett, who owns a dairy farm with his wife, Mary, in Black Creek, is one of Red Barn's original two suppliers.

He said Red Barn not only pays a little more for milk — a reward for following its strict animal husbandry standards — but also provides a sense of being connected and appreciated. “You feel good because you're not in the volume business, you're in the quality business,” he said. “It gives you a little more pride. You feel good because (Terry Homan) is a vet, and he gets on different farms. He sees where cows are well cared for.”

When the Inc. Innovator pages profiled the Homans last October, they had been bottling milk for six months, and preparing to take their first cheese, under the Heritage Weiss label, into stores.

They had just started serving their milk in Lawrence University's dining hall, and had a few retail outlets, including Woodman's in Appleton, Lamers Dairy Store (which is their bottling company as well) and the Arthur Bay Cheese Co.

Since that time, they've kept the Lawrence account even though the school has changed food management companies to Bon Appetit, a firm that fortunately saw the value of local resources.

Red Barn has also become a vendor for Aviands out of Minnesota and Sodexo, which has regional offices in Chicago. Through those two management companies, Red Barn has been able to expand sales to the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay's retail store and Concordia University in Mequon.

“Last academic year, we provided Lawrence University with approximately 85 to 95 cases of milk per week as 5-gallon dispensers,” Terry said. Figuring in the increased number of colleges, plus new options of half-pints, pints, half-gallons and gallons, “We expect the (academic) customers that have currently committed to our products to use over 325 cases of milk per week,” he said.

At retail, they've expanded cheese sales to Skogen's Festival Foods and Larry's Piggly Wiggly in Little Chute. They've added more locations in Milwaukee, and now have a total of 25 retail outlets.

Even at a time of low commodity milk prices, Red Barn found a good reception for its premium product.

“I think the most exciting aspect is that the message of our brand ... can be successful even in this economy,” Terry said.

Maureen Wallenfang: 920-993-1000, ext. 287, or mwallenfang@postcrescent.com