“It’s value-added agriculture,” Gallion says. Only 15 dairy farms remain in Harford County, compared to 33 in 2002 and 54 in 1997.įor the Dallams, that reinvention meant opening their own milk processing plant in 2021 and making cheese and ice cream on the property. “They’ve pivoted to direct market, instead of relying on dairy cooperatives.” “The farms left today have reinvented themselves,” says Andrew Kness, the University of Maryland Extension agricultural agent for Harford County. The rise in milk alternatives like soy, oat, and almond milk has also affected demand. But now, aside from not getting enough money for their milk, many dairy farmers are faced with increased output costs to operate their farms, such as climbing diesel and fertilizer prices, he says. Traditionally, dairy farms sell to milk cooperatives-farmer-owned groups that market the members’ milk and dairy products-says Gallion, a former dairy farmer. It’s hard for them because the price they’re getting for their milk is not enough.” “A lot of local farms are not milking a lot of cows. Jason Gallion, a Harford County beef farmer who represents parts of Harford and Cecil counties and is the agricultural specialist for Harford County. “It’s a tough environment,” says Republican state Sen. Only 15 dairy farms remain in Harford County, compared to 33 in 2002 and 54 in 1997. While there has been a drop in the number of dairy farms around the state and country, the 240-acre, nine-generation farm, which dates back to the 1700s, stays productive. She turned to an idea that had been, well, churning in her brain for some time and made it a reality: opening an ice-cream store.
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The rescue plan was put into effect almost 20 years ago when Kate Dallam, now 54, was trying to figure out how to pay the staff. Revenues from the store’s ice-cream sales have been a lifeline for the Harford County dairy farm, especially when economic times are tough. “I need to take a photo now to get it up on Instagram,” she says, busily arranging a scoop of the chilled confection next to a single orange and a box of tea as she sets up the shot.Ĭustomers, having taken notice of her photo shoot, ask if they can get a taste of the new offering, which is created by soaking Tazo Wild Sweet Orange tea bags in an ice-cream mix made from the farm’s milk and adding orange zest. She has just created a new ice-cream flavor for the farm’s café.
It’s early June, and Kate Dallam, who owns Broom’s Bloom Dairy in Bel Air with her husband, David, is radiating with excitement.
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