MVP Dairy, a partnership of the McCarty and Vantilburg families, opened its doors in July 2019. The 4,500 cow dairy is located on US Route 33 outside of Celina, Ohio in Mercer County.
Brock Peters is the general manager at MVP Dairy and oversees day to day operations on the farm.
“We milk 3,800 Holsteins on a daily basis on an 80 stall rotary parlor.” Peters explained how the facilities and daily cow care come together to create a safe and comfortable environment for the cows. High quality care is a critical component and allows the cows to “maximize their genetic potential and let cows do what [they] are genetically made to do, and that’s produce milk,” he said.
Each cow is producing roughly 95-100 pounds of milk each day which equates to five to six semi tanker loads every day. The milk produced at MVP Dairy is used by the Danone North America yogurt facility in Minster, Ohio. “Oftentimes our milk can go from our milk parlor on to a cup of yogurt in 24-36 hours,” Peters said. Talk about farm fresh!
As a new and large operation in Mercer County, the McCarty and Vantilburg families wanted to create an operation which added to the local economy and garnered the support of the community.
One way MVP Dairy fosters a close relationship with the surrounding community is through the Dairy Learning Center.
“When we were creating the dairy itself, we wanted to make sure that we had a space here where people could come in and see firsthand the work that we were doing,” says Allison Ryan, the director of the Dairy Learning Center at MVP. At the Center, visitors can trace milk’s journey from soil to yogurt cup and learn about management practices MVP employs at every step to ensure a high quality product and to protect natural resources.
The interactive displays are brightly colored and packed with facts to help bridge the gap between consumers and their food.
“We know that less than 2% of our population is involved in food production, so for us, being able to showcase that story and open ourselves up to that is something that we really value here at MVP,” Ryan said. With that in mind, the educational displays are designed based on frequently asked questions, or the things consumers might ask themselves while they stand in the grocery store.
While the Dairy Learning Center is currently closed to visitors due to COVID-19 restrictions, you can follow MVP Dairy on Facebook for updates. See the full interview from Brock Peters and Allison Ryan.
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