Siblings open creamery for local ice cream, cheeses

Feature from The Farmer’s Pride

Most people don’t start a new full-time career as they approach retirement age. But don’t tell that to brother and sister Terry and Sharon Rowlett.

The Rowletts have undertaken s significant career move with the opening of Rowlett’s Milkhouse and Creamery.

“People told me I was crazy and I just confirmed it,” laughed Terry Rowlett.

The Rowletts knew they would have to eventually make some decision about the Henry County family dairy farm when their father died 10 years ago. At the time Terry continued to milk the farm’s 110 Holsteins and Sharon continued as a Trimble County school administrator.

In January 2018, the team began plans to develop a value-added business.

Terry Rowlett enjoys telling the process they experienced to open a dairy store intending to use their milk to make ice cream, cheese, and butter. But, as with any new business, the Rowletts found they couldn’t make all their plans happen at once.

As Terry began to research the requirements and equipment for a creamery, he found there would be several hoops to jump through as he planned the 2160 square foot building that would house the retail portion, an office, delivery area, and a manufacturing plant. The milking herd has been downsized to 60 head, including several Jerseys to increase the herd’s butterfat numbers.

As he began to price equipment, he realized that making ice cream and butter from their milk wasn’t going to happen. The separator used to separate the cream from the milk was too expensive. Rowlett located a smaller separator and hopes to have it in use by next year. The Rowletts decided to use Prairie Farms ice cream mix as the base for their initial ice cream and Prairie Farms cream for their butter.

Rowlett became a certified milk hauler to transport his farm’s milk to the creamery. With each hauling, a milk sample is tested for antibiotics and bacteria, which meant a trip to Frankfort. He knew that as the business grew, this would become a daily trip and be time-consuming and costly. He included a lab in the plant design where the milk could be tested “in-house” once he and Sharon received the necessary training and certification.

Rowlett’s Milkhouse and Creamery began selling ice cream on Aug. 31.

He laughed and said his ice cream making skills were trial and error and no recipe.

“The first batch of ice cream was so bad,my dog wouldn’t even eat it,” he said.

After each practice batch, he and his wife would consider how to make it better the next time. They tweaked the ingredients as they worked out the final recipe. Now, there is a set of shelves in the plant covered by a blue cover that conceals their secret ice cream ingredients.

Eight flavors are always on the menu board with some that will change seasonally. For instance, peach has now given way to pumpkin spice. But he couldn’t offer his favorite - butter pecan - because of the cost of the nuts and concern for tree nut food allergies.

His ice cream maker makes six quarts at a time a and completes a batch in about eight minutes, just enough time to get another batch ready. As well as the ice cream sells, some days he is making ice cream all day long.

While Rowlett can’t make ice cream with the farm milk, he can make cheese. Just before the grand opening on Oct. 14, Rowlett brought in his first load of 170 gallons of milk from the evening milking. The sample was taken to Frankfort by 8 a.m. the next morning, and after receiving a phone call approving the sample, he unloaded the milk into the pasteurizer and began making cheese and cheese curds.

The 170 gallons of milk will make approximately 150 pounds of cheese. The cheese is aged for 30-60 days, but cheese curds are available right away. the creamery plans to offer cheddar, the pepper jack, followed by provolone and Gouda.

While Terry is in the back making the products, sister Sharon is up front meeting the customers, scooping ice cream and making the newly added milkshakes. She says that the only time she is in the back is to “clean up Terry’s mess".”

How has business been so far?

“Outstanding!” was Terry Rowlett’s quick answer. “We can’t thank the community enough for their support!”

Located at 63 Commerce Dr., Campbellsburg, just past the intersection of Highways 421 and 55, the creamery already draws customers from a 100-mile radius. During September, they sold 700 half gallons of ice cream.

Rowlett’s Milkhouse and Creamery markets through almost daily posts on social media, letting customers know what’s going on when they stop by for a favorite flavor.

The Rowletts keep a rigorous schedule with the creamery open from 1 p.n. through 8 p.m. and continually making the product, weighing, and labeling the products.

“We grew up on a farm, and we know how to work. We get up early and stay up late until we get the job done,” Sharon said.

“We are just passionate about our milk,'‘ Terry concluded.