History of producing North Idaho Raw Milk from A2A2 Guernsey Cows
Pleasant Meadow Creamery has been producing North Idaho raw milk from A2A2 Guernsey cows since 2011. We moved to Idaho from Colorado in 2004, have been farming in the Dufort Valley of Sagle since 2006.
We are a family business. Paul, Debra, and the adult “kids” all pitch in, day in and day out, to achieve the mission!
Mission
Our mission is to glorify and honor the God of the bible. We work to be faithful and diligent stewards of His resources in order to produce amazing dairy products for our local community including three counties – Bonner, Kootenai, and Boundary. We continually strive to produce great milk, great cows, healthy organic fields, and well-paying rewarding work for body, soul, and spirit.
There are other raw milk dairies in North Idaho, but none are committed to producing a premium product like we are. None are committed to glass, grass, superior genetics, and the best-tasting milk.
We have been dairying longer than most raw milk dairies in the state of Idaho, and we are one of the largest raw milk dairies in the state. We bacteria test every batch of milk we produce. We have a facility that has been inspected and has passed state inspections for compliance with the federal PMO and grade A standards before the state dropped such standards. We take dairying seriously and professionally and it is our primary living.
We challenge you to side-by-side compare our Guernsey Goodness against any milk you can find on an Idaho supermarket shelf, including other raw milks, and we are confident our Guernsey Goodness is incomparable in every way.
It is premium for your health, for your family, and for the environment.
Idaho Guernsey Raw Milk
Pleasant Meadow Creamery is committed to providing you with wholesome 100% grass-fed, non-GMO based Guernsey A2A2 cow milk as God intended milk to be.
Only Guernseys produce the best-tasting milk and we are the original Guernsey dairy of North Idaho.
Glass preserves taste and freshness like no other container. Grass and mixed legume hay and pastures assures you of premium quality for your health and the earth.
Care for the “Ladies”
For Guernsey cows to produce the most wholesome, healthy, and great-tasting milk, their diet is very important.
The cows are out on irrigated pasture, eating fresh grass, clover, and alfalfa for six months every year. They have fresh grass, shade under trees, fresh air, and plenty of fresh water and exercise. These cows live a bucolic life like you would imagine a small family dairy should be. These are not “factory cows” (though we think there is a certain place for large dairies within the greater ecosystem).
When conditions are not ideal to be outside, the girls eat mixed grass and legume hay and haylage, and sleep in a planer shavings-bedded pack bedding barn. They have outdoor access every day, and in fact spend probably half or more of their waking day outside during the winter.
They are not on concrete, and do not sleep in little stalls. Rather, they live a natural cow life on the pack and on the snow, freely milling about with each other.
The girls do not eat TMR – total mixed ration. Instead, they eat whole stem hay and haylage (a fermented hay that is baled soon after cutting and is almost like feeding fresh grass in the winter). We don’t put additives in their grasses. They get an OMRI approved certified organic mineral mix to keep them balanced and healthy.
During milking, we feed the girls certified organic grain. It contains lentils, peas, barley and wheat from Eastern Montana.
Here are our cows being milked. We milk 8 at a time, 4 per side, in a double 4 herringbone pit parlor.
In the barns, we feed OMRI listed free choice salt from Redmond Agriculture. This salt is mined in Utah and provides important trace minerals that may be lacking in the local grasses/soils and helps the ladies keep up with all the nutrients going out into the healthy Guernsey Goodness they produce. They also have free choice OMRI listed mineral mix, and baking soda.
All of this – the best food, air, water, exercise, and rest – helps the girls keep up with their energy and physical needs while producing high cream, high quality Guernsey Goodness.
We do not feed corn or soy.
Our goal for the cows is that they each live long, productive lives. We have worked hard to improve genetics to accomplish this goal, and also have worked hard to improve our individual care for each cow.
How we care for the farm
The farm has a creek running through it and has two high output wells that bring very pure water from 300 feet deep in a gravel layer beneath us. These wells are used to water the stock and to keep the pastures green throughout the summer. This way, the cows are always eating the best, while we have the opportunity to really make a lush cover of the ground to out-compete weeds, build up soil organic matter, and even provide a home for a plethora of worms!
Here are wheel lines watering the fields during the hot and dry summer:
We do not use synthetic fertilizers, and we definitely do not use synthetic herbicides. Additions to fields include gypsum, lime, elemental sulfur, and manure.
We compost all manure on the farm for a season, after the winter pack is done, and we spread this compost on the pastures and hay fields every late fall just before snow flies. We work to continuously increase topsoil and make this land far healthier through the years than how it was when we began our stewardship of it.
We use chickens, ducks, and wild turkeys to sanitize the pastures after the cows graze them.
Bees are allowed to flourish, and pesky pests are controlled by swallows we encourage to live here by putting swallow houses in the eaves of every building.
Your local Guernsey dairy
We are a local dairy – selling at retail stores in Bonners Ferry, Ponderay, Sandpoint, Oldtown, Athol, Rathdrum, Hayden, Post Falls, and Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.
We appreciate your support of our efforts.
Guernseys Make the Best Milk Ever
Did you know that Guernseys have always been preferred for taste and quality of their milk? Guernseys are making a resurgence, especially in direct marketing dairies and specialty dairy products.
Please check out our Youtube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/paulherndoncpa
Our Facebook page:
https://facebook.com/GuernseyGoodness
And we are on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/pleasantmeadowcreamery
Jake
Hi! We are new to the area and would like to try your raw milk. Do you sell it from the farm itself or only at the retail groceries listed? If the farm has a stand, what are the hours?
Thanks!
Paul Herndon
Jake, we sell only thru the retail stores listed on our website. There is no farm stand at the farm.
Susan
Do you sell real cream? What stores in in Hayden, Coeurdalene and Post Falls carry it?
Paul Herndon
We do sell cream Susan. Currently we are on a temporary hiatus while we wait for some cows to calve though. When we do have it, Pilgrim’s Market in CDA is your best bet for finding it. Athol Super 1 and Rathdrum Super 1 are sometimes delivered cream as well, but we’re not as consistent in those stores.
Meggan
Hi! Are you back to selling cream and is Pilgrims still the best place to get it? We want to make butter with your amazing product!
Paul Herndon
We deliver cream to the following stores on the following days:
Monday afternoon:
Pilgrim’s Market in Coeur d’ Alene
Yoke’s Fresh Market in Post Falls
Saturday afternoon:
Super 1 in Oldtown
Winter Ridge Foods
Super 1 in Sandpoint
Winter Ridge and Pilgrim’s both get the higher quantities versus the other 3 stores.
Shanna
Good afternoon! After taking a look on your Facebook page, it looks as if you all have been quite busy. Question to the above for delivering of cream, we have been to several of the stores, but haven’t seen it, will you be back to delivering cream soon, and will it be with the above stores and same dates again? Thank you in advance from another very appreciative customer!
Paul Herndon
We haven’t hit our minimum production numbers that allow us to produce cream and I don’t know that we’re going to hit them any time soon. We were hopeful we would get there in mid December, but it may be even up to several more months before cream is back on the shelves. Much has to do with short days and colder weather and how these affect cow production. Combine this with pre-calving vacations for cows and we end up with lower production than we would like.
Chris Anderson
Pleasant Meadow milk is absolutely the very best A2A2 raw milk you can buy! Delicious creamed topped milk that never disappoints.
Chris
Pleasant Meadow milk is absolutely the very best A2A2 raw milk you can buy! Delicious creamed topped milk that never disappoints.
James Howell
Does your organic feed contain soy or corn?
Paul Herndon
Soy and corn free certified organic dairy grain from Big Sky Organics in Fort Benton, MT. Primary ingredients are wheat, barley, peas, alfalfa pellets, that sort of thing.
Naomi
Hello.
I just found this Q&A page today.
Thank you for selling cream. We are interested in purchasing when the cows are done calving.
We have looked far and wide for people who sell the cream.
We were interested in the cream from your cows but hadn’t seen it at any of the above stores for awhile. It is good to now know the reason why. (Thank you to the person who asked!)
We are thankful for your cows and all the work you do.
Betty Stitzel
I am needing to purchase an A2A2 Guernsey cow! Thank you
Paul Herndon
We recommend you contact Debra Lakey at the Wisconsin Guernsey Breeders Association. A Google search will help you get her contact information.
Bettu Stitzel
I am looking to purchase an A2A2 Guernsey heifer. I live in Elko, NV and am able to travel to pickup.
Thank you.
Paul Herndon
Your best bet would be to contact Debra Lakey of the Wisconsin Guernsey Breeders Association. She can easily be found via Google search.
Jennifer Carmouche
Greetings,
Do you allow visits to your farm?
Paul Herndon
Hello Jennifer. We do not currently do farm tours because it would require a dedicated employee and we don’t have anyone available at the moment. We are considering some type of organized group tours in May, possibly starting next year.
Jackie
I live in Bozeman, can you ship frozen milk?
Paul Herndon
Raw milk cannot be shipped across state lines. You could buy it in Idaho and take it back to Montana with you.
Hunter
I will be in Sandpoint on October 4th. I seen some comments about being on a hiatus, could I expect to find milk in one the stores there listed on your website at that time?
Paul Herndon
We are definitely on no hiatus. The only thing that is not being bottled and sold currently is cream. Cream will resume in late October. Otherwise, we are at full production and are well-stocking the stores.
Wynne
Do you sell butter made from your raw milk?
Paul Herndon
We do not. Butter is made from cream. We do sell cream.
Wynne
Do you sell butter made from your raw milk?
Nikki S
We just bought a half gallon jar at Super one in Atholn we currently drink/use raw milk, but it is not A2/A2. I’ve always wondered the taste difference. There’s definitely a difference. I actually could now drink a glass of milk. Also, so awesome to see raw milk sold in stores. We are from ND & we just got it passed to be able to sell raw milk at places like farmers markets, in person etc…. without needing cow shares. Refreshing to see Idaho having more freedom.
Nikki S
We just bought a half gallon jar at Super one in Athol, we currently drink/use raw milk, but it is not A2/A2. I’ve always wondered the taste difference. There’s definitely a difference. I actually could now drink a glass of milk. Also, so awesome to see raw milk sold in stores. We are from ND & we just got it passed to be able to sell raw milk at places like farmers markets, in person etc…. without needing cow shares. Refreshing to see Idaho having more freedom.
Paul Herndon
Thank you for the comment, and we agree – it is good to see raw milk in stores and it SHOULD be there. Hopefully you will one day enjoy that in ND!
Gail Davis
Do you ever make Raw Kefir?
Paul Herndon
We do not.
Randy Ulrich
Wow! From a Californian who used to sell raw milk in my Health Food Store. Looooong Ago!
I always thought it was the Feds who stopped it. I’m guessing the CA dairy folks lobbied the CA crooked politicians to stop it. Imagine that! Thank you for what you do and for your dedication to Christ JESUS! ❤️
Paul Herndon
The King of kings and Lord of lords!
Valerie Schumacher
What stores near to Spokane are you in?
Paul Herndon
Yoke’s in Post Falls and Super 1 in Post Falls are the closest stores to Spokane.
Shannon
Hi there! Do you have heavy cream available? I own an organic caramel business in Post Falls and am looking to source my cream locally.
Paul Herndon
We do not produce cream for the wholesale market. This summer, we will regularly have cream for retail in the grocery stores.
Brant
looking to purchase a guernsey cow, or heifer. anyone know where I can get one?
Paul Herndon
We do not have any for sale. You would need to contact Guernsey breeders or look at national auctions. American Guernsey Association can maybe point you in the right direction.
Diane
Are there “checks” or “tests” done to pasteurized milk to make it “safer” then raw milk? Are there downsides to raw milk in that way?
Paul Herndon
Once milk goes to a processor and gets pasteurized, there are generally no further tests done with it. There may be multiple tests done to it before pasteurization, including standard plate count and coliform count, the same tests we perform on raw milk before it is bottled and sold.
Mandy
Do you guys sell bottle calves? Very interested in purchasing some
Paul Herndon
We do sell bottle bull calves when we have them.
Robert Hahn
Hello we are blue dreams guernseys. Highland, wis. Sold our a2 milk cows last year. Have 12 a2 guernsey heifers that we will breed then sell as springers. Phone 608 566 3368
Thomas Yellich
I wanted to know if you sell manure to the public?
Paul Herndon
We do not. It all goes onto our acres and acres of hay fields.
Wayne Newman
Do you sell outside the state of Idaho? Watching the you tube show “the rancher and the wife “. He mentioned your raw milk
Paul Herndon
He lives right down the road from us. We are not able to, by FDA rule, transport unpasteurized milk across state lines for sale. If a person buys it in Idaho, the buyer can take it across state lines.
Stephanie
Hello, my family and I love your product! I just have a quick question regarding all the media attention surrounding the bird flu being in cattle in Idaho. It’s being said the pathogen can be transmitted to humans through raw unpasteurized milk.
My question is are you testing the ladies to make sure they’re healthy and not carrying the pathogen?
Paul Herndon
The symptoms of this disease when passed to cattle are obvious and are the following:
Sudden loss of appetite
Decreased production
Thick colostrum-like milk
Tacky or loose feces
Fever
We have protocols in place all the time to monitor for disease in cattle, looking for symptoms such as these, which also can be symptoms of pneumonia or mastitis, and if any cow were to present with symptoms that affect milk, her milk bypasses the pipeline that goes to the cooling tank and ends up scrapped. Therefore, we are confident no milk containing any pathogens makes it into the food supply for people.
Besides all that, so far, aside from the original outbreaks in the southwest, the known cases are from cattle being transported from infected herds. Currently, we have a closed herd and practice biosecurity in regards to vehicular traffic.
William
Hello, do you ever sell any of your heifer calves?
Thank you!
Paul Herndon
We do not currently sell any cows or heifers.
John Herschel
Is your raw milk safe to make clabber with? …essentially leaving it out at room temperature to create a healthy cultured milk.
Paul Herndon
What would make it unsafe?
Jessica Wilkie
Hello,
Any chance you have any bottle calf bull calves available? Or in the future 🙂
Thanks
Paul Herndon
Every bull calf born here gets sold within 1 week to any willing buyer.
Kristina
Do you recycle the glass bottles or refill them?
Paul Herndon
Glass bottles get returned to stores. We pick them up there, wash, and reuse.
Dan
Where do I take my empty glass bottle at yokes
Paul Herndon
Return to any store that sells our product.
MARK KALLSTROM
Wow , you guys are doing ”dairy right ” . We were a several generation dairy farm family , having milked cows in Mt Vernon , Port Orchard & Ephrata , Washington . We know if you take care of your cows they will take care of you ! What a great job your doing , your cows will last a long time , praise Yeshua give glory to Adonai . Mark Kallstrom with Kallstrom Sweet Corn here in Ephrata , Washington
Anthony E Howell
Just checking, does your farm check for PFAS contamining farmlands with sewer sluggah. Just wondering, it sounds like a serious situation. Just watched investigated report on that appreciate your feedback.Thank you. Your milk tastes great, so sure like to keep drinking it
Paul Herndon
Anthony, are you asking about our land or vendors from whom we source feed? Feed we purchase is certified organic. Sewage sludge is not allowed, nor do any farms from whom we procure, including ours, have nearby sources of sludge. We do not otherwise test for PFAS since we have no reason to suspect contamination.
Char
I haven’t been able to drink milk for a very long time because the pasteurized milk that is stocked in major stores all have D3 in it. D3 added to most milk is animal based which is derived from wool sheep. In a nutshell I am allergic to wool sheep, wool alcohol and lanolin which is found in almost everything and D3 is made from wool alcohol and lanolin. I have been looking for a good old fashioned dairy farm since I moved to Washington a couple of years ago and I finally found your raw milk this past weekend in Pilgrims! Since I am the only one who will be drinking it in my house, I get the privilege of drinking it straight from the glass bottle. It is the best tasting milk I’ve had in forever! So far, no allergic reactions and so grateful for this. Once you open the bottle, how long can the milk last before it goes bad? I only bought one bottle because I wasn’t sure. I live in North Spokane so it’s quite a trek to CDA.
Paul Herndon
How long milk lasts is mostly dependent on how cold you keep it and whether or not it is exposed for long periods to air. Anytime the bottle is opened, it gets exposed to air and what is in the air, including yeasts, molds, fungi, and bacteria, and if the fridge isn’t cold enough, it allows biologic processes to occur faster (like lactic acid fermentation). If well-produced, a bottle of our milk can last for weeks unopened in a refrigerator set at 33 or 34 degrees. If the temp approaches 40, or if the bottle is opened frequently, you can expect it to last for less.
pat henderson
we run a cow calf operation in north idaho, can I buy some colostrum from you for animal use?
Paul Herndon
We do have some available in frozen half gallons in Ziploc bags. We sell it currently for $25 per half gallon. You may call us to arrange pickup. 208-597-2086
Margaret
Hi. With Christmas and New Year’s on Wednesdays, when will milk be delivered to your north stores? I shop at Yoke’s in Ponderay.
Paul Herndon
The day after Christmas. I believe delivery on New Years Day will be normal.
Olive Mills
Hey are you hiring? I am looking for an out doors type job and have a passion for cattle and farming .All my previous employers will recommend me. Call me for references phone numbers. Looking for part time work. Please let me know if you have any open positions. Thankyou
Kellen
Hello. I love your milk. I just can’t consume it all. I’m forced to buy a half gallon at the Super One’s because they don’t sell anything smaller. I end up pouring over half of it down the drain cuz it has curdled. Do y’all sell a smaller size??
Thank you so much!
Paul Herndon
Send you an email. We sell in quart size also at Yoke’s in Ponderay and Post Falls, Pilgrim’s Market in CDA, and Winter Ridge in Sandpoint.
Jean Joy O'Donnell
try freezing 1/2 of it in a tupperware filled 90%
Taylor Runge
When will raw cream be available? Thank you!
Paul Herndon
Not until spring. Most likely May.
Peggy L Kitchen
How do I get one of your bull calves?
Paul Herndon
Peggy, we will reach out to you by email the next time we have one available.
Andrew
Hi, I’m located in Montana and looking for a family milk cow. Do you guys have any cows available for sale?
Thanks!
Andrew
Paul Herndon
We do not. Your best bet would be to look on Family Milk Cow Market on Facebook.
Susan Pollard
I am from Boise and use to buy my milk from a place called Cloverleaf Creamery from Natural Grocers. They sold their raw milk, and also they sold skim milk. I always bought their skim milk. It was by far the best milk I had ever tasted in my life my daughter loved it too! Do you ever make skim milk, and if not why don’t you? I’ve looked for it since I moved here. But cannot find it anywhere.
Paul Herndon
When we separate cream, we pour all the skim milk onto our composting manure and it then gets spread on the fields. We don’t happen to believe skim milk is all that good for you, in general, and there isn’t a very large market for it, which is why we don’t take the time to bottle and sell it.
Garry Now
Are you still delivering to Pilgrims in Coeur d Alene and Yokes in Post Falls?
Paul Herndon
Yes.
Scott
Hi, we have only ever drank pasteurized milk in our family. Is raw milk safe? I have read about it, and it seems there maybe risks. I have a severe autoimmune and do not want any unwanted effects from drinking raw milk. We feel raw milk would be healthier, just needs to be safe. Please assure me, thank you.
Paul Herndon
https://www.rawmilkinstitute.org/about-raw-milk
Michelle price
Why do you not allow the public to buy directly from you? I haven’t bought dairy for years because I don’t like the industry as a whole but I love the small farms that ethically raise their animals. Same with beef, it’s been 20 years or more since I have bought beef from the store, I only buy from local farmers. Do you have any plans to sell direct to consumer? Do you ever do farmers markets? That would also cut out the middle man and make it more affordable.
Paul Herndon
It’s simply more convenient and economical for us to get the milk closer to the consumer than for the consumer to come to us. The federal mileage reimbursement rate is currently 72.5 cents per mile. The reimbursement rate is the actual cost of you driving a car – maintenance, depreciation, gas, insurance, etc. This means that if you were to drive 20 miles round trip to come to our farm, your cost is $14.50. Let’s say we sold you the milk for wholesale, which we wouldn’t do of course, because we’d have to “man” a store on-farm, which cost we would have to pass on to you… but let’s just say we sell wholesale and you buy 4 half gallons from us for a fictional $8 wholesale per half gallon. Your total cost for the 4 is now $46.50, or $11.63 per half gallon. This doesn’t account for your time, which is valuable, and you have no other products you can buy at the same time, so it doesn’t account for opportunity cost on the time. It is much more economical for us to bring the milk into your neighborhood store. Yes, they are going to mark it up, but it’s there conveniently for you when you are ready to get it, and you can buy other products as well, and the store gets to survive and thrive selling quality local products. Therefore, we have no plans to sell directly to the consumer, nor through farmer’s markets (which would increase our labor and time considerably). Our milk that you buy in your neighborhood store is the same great milk that you would get directly from us, but you didn’t have to drive 20, 30, or 50 miles to get it, and you got a chance to do your other grocery shopping, and you got to support your local store and all their employees!
Peggy Kitchen
Just checking in on any potential bull calfs. I spoke with you last year and wanted to let you know im still interested.
Paul Herndon
None right now.
Douglas Armstrong
Good morning,
Recently purchased a half gallon and noticed that you offer bottle refunds. Where do I return this to? Purchased at Super 1 Sandpoint
Many Thanks
Douglas Armstrong
Random Acres
Paul Herndon
Return to any store where our products are sold.
Alex
Hello, I have a client interested in getting into cattle farming in Idaho or Montana, do you know anyone interested in selling their operation. I understand there are many aging farmers whose children are not interested in farming and these folks are people I am interested in chatting with. Please let me know if you can think if anyone. Thank you for what you do.
Paul Herndon
Sorry – don’t know anyone selling.
John A
So glad I found your milk and cream! I am making my first batch of yogurt using your products (mixed to make half & half). Any advice on making yogurt?
John A
So glad I found your milk and cream! I am making my first batch of yogurt using your products (mixed to make half & half). Any advice on making yogurt?