Cream of the Crop: a Peek into Pure Eire
As we drive up Birdwell Road in Othello, WA, we are greeted by the sight of our calves playing or lounging in the sun at Pure Éire Dairy and Creamery. The cows are lazily grazing, and some are even nursing their babies as they graze. This is one of the many unique qualities of our dairy. The calves stay with their mothers to nurse and to be given the best possible start in life. Though it’s not the most economical practice for raising calves or producing milk, we feel it’s what’s best for the overall health of our internally grown, A2 milk-producing Jersey herd. They are the stars!
We are Richard and Jill Smith, and we started Pure Éire in 2009 based on a mission to produce organic milk from purely grass-fed Jersey cows. Though we’ve grown over time, we’ve never strayed from the ideal of making the kind of milk we want for our children. Thankfully, others want this same type of milk. They want to know where their milk comes from, how the animals are treated and what goes into their diets. For this, we are truly grateful. It is those consumers who deeply care about these attributes that allow us to continue to do what we do.
Our unique practices result in high-quality milk production, and our efforts have not gone unnoticed! It has led to Pure Éire winning prestigious awards for the yogurt we make in our on-farm creamery. We are now four-time winners at the U.S. Championship contest and recently won an International Championship title. We make our yogurt from the full-fat milk our Jerseys produce. Their milk is unique with naturally higher butterfat and protein content. Our simple processing style doesn’t standardize what’s in your milk. Typical whole milk is standardized to a set protein level and 3.25% butterfat. In comparison, our Jerseys give us milk with approximately 5.5 – 6% butterfat that we pass on to you. Why is this important? The good stuff is housed in the fat, and grass-fed fats provide the type of nutrients that we all need.
We are both Animal Welfare Approved and Certified 100% Grass-fed year-round by A Greener World. The majority of the time, our cows rotationally graze the acreage around the dairy, getting fresh pasture after milking. To provide the same grass-only diet in the winter months, we raise, harvest and store grasses throughout the summer. Herd health is our priority. We see the results of our efforts as cows continue to be part of our herd well into their teenage years!
Pure Éire Dairy is the most challenging dairy endeavor we’ve ever experienced, yet the most rewarding as well. Dairy life has its tough days, but we’re glad our kids are growing up the way we did. We’ve also met so many people with whom we wouldn’t have otherwise crossed paths, and we have built customer relationships that have turned into great friendships over the years. People really caring about how and where their food comes from keeps us working to improve on what we do and the products we make.
