Photo courtesy Old Church Creamery
Old Church Creamery Queenfield Farm, 1042 Dabneys Mill Road, Manquin, (804) 513-3748 or oldchurchcreamery.com Owners: Catherine and Keith Long Location: Manquin History: Catherine Long and her family kept a cow for years, and they were successful at producing milk and cheese — enough to feed themselves, relatives and friends at the original farm site in Old Church. "What got us motivated to turn this into an actual business was seeing the documentary Food, Inc., sometime around 2008, and deciding that we could be a part of the solution." Specialty: Premium grade milk, yogurt, cheese and kefir. "Our milk contains 13 percent more protein and 16 percent more calcium than ordinary milk," says Long. Production Methods: OCC uses no pesticides, inorganic nitrogen fertilizers or hormones. "Jersey [cows] are extremely heat-tolerant and require a 20-percent smaller footprint," explains Long, "making them ideal grazers for Virginia." Pastures are improved with compost tea, fish emulsion and kelp. "Presently, we feed [our cows] non-GMO grass, hay and silage." Where to get it in RVA: Byrd House Market, South of the James Market and the Old Church Creamery farm store. Future Plans: Chocolate milk and mocha milk are in the works and will be available starting this fall. "It took us a while to find a good supply of cocoa powder that didn't contain cornstarch or soy lecithin," says Long.
