Looking for something to do on Saturday, May 13? Castle Rock Organic Dairy is celebrating its grand opening from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. near Osseo, Wisconsin. This could be your chance to drink fresh, glass-bottled organic milk, eat squeaky cheese curds right out of the vat or sample fresh farmstead ice cream.
Owners Wayne & Carla Kostka, along with a couple of partners, built their farmstead milk bottling plant last June. Now they’re opening the doors to show the public all the steps between milking the cow and putting it in your fridge.
It’s a neat story – all of the products made at the Castle Rock facility come from the milk of a single herd, managed by son Barry Kostka. The family decided to diversify their farm business in order to bring in the next generation of children & grandchildren (that’s Barry, Wayne and two of Wayne’s grandchildren pictured above in their dairy barn).
It’s not a simple process in Wisconsin to start your own farmstead facility, but with the help of some experts and plenty of research, the Kostkas got off the ground pretty quickly. They’re now running a home delivery route in Eau Claire and marketing their milk in several regional stores.
They value their customers, too. Every time I call Carla to talk shop, I get put on hold at least twice because a customer has walked into her on-farm retail store. That’s good news – my job is to help folks like Wayne & Carla succeed. Congrats to them on their grand opening. I know they’d like to see you – location is S13240 Young Road, Osseo, Wis.