Simply Natural Jersey Farm Ayden,NC

Simply Natural is a 200-cow dairy farm and creamery owned and operated by Neil Moye, his wife and children, and his brother and sister-in-law. The family previously only grew row crops, but Neil dipped his toes in the dairy world with two cows and a bucket milker when his children were young. What began as a backyard project has grown to a bustling creamery selling milk, ice cream, and a variety of other products, while offering guided tours for the public to learn all about the dairy and agriculture industries.

Q&A WITH NEIL MOYE

What was it like to start your own dairy farm and creamery?

We’ve always done row crops here, but we were looking for something to go from start to finish with our own product. All the other dairies in our area left years ago, so we began considering bottling our own milk and making ice cream, and having a farm set up so people could see where dairy products come from. In 2009 we made the decision to start building the dairy, and by 2011 we were milking cows. It had been a stressful time…we had never been in the dairy business and had a barn full of heifers that had never been in a barn before, and I remember sitting on the steps one day thinking ‘what have I done?’ In about a month we were able to get used to it all and things started flowing. In October 2014 we started bottling our milk which again was tough starting out. We were trying to get into grocery stores, restaurants, etc., which can be challenging. Our customers were very helpful—they began asking grocery stores to carry our milk, and stores started calling us.

How has your operation evolved since starting?

We thought that milk would be our number one product and ice cream would be a byproduct, but it ended up being the reverse. Ice cream helped us get our name out there. We started with our store on the farm and once our products caught on, we then opened two other Simply Natural stores. There are other businesses that dip our ice cream, and between grocery stores and wholesale customers, we have about 250 places we sell to. We try to give a premium product from start to finish, and we put a lot of care into our cows that transitions into our product line.

What are some of your plans for the future?

We hope to continue expanding our ice cream business, and maybe put in some more stores. We also want to continue our education efforts. Our community has definitely been there for us, and we get a lot of out-of-town customers too. When people leave from here, whether it’s a customer coming to the store, a school group on a tour, etc., we want them to understand where their milk comes from because that is important for the industry.

How does Premier help you reach your goals?

Premier offers us good bulls. We’re always looking to better our herd to stay on the cutting edge of genetics. Some of the key things we look for are productive life, milk, butterfat, udders, and health traits. Premier doesn’t forget about the Jersey people! My son and I learned how to artificially inseminate cattle through Premier, and any time we’ve ever had a problem with repro on the farm, Premier has been there to help and provide guidance.

Simply Natural’s marketing and presentation to the public of quality dairy products is truly ahead of its time. It is always a pleasure to go there and observe how well modern dairying is presented. I work directly with Edmundo Hernandez, the herdsman, and he is very dedicated to building a herd that is genetically and from a health standpoint, topflight.

-Greg Casey, Area Sales Manager for Simply Natural Jersey Farm