Two Farms, One Goal
Pine Tree Dairy
Founded in the 1800’s, Pine Tree Dairy is a 5th generation family farm that originally started in Rittman, OH. The Steiner farm was originally started by Levi Steiner, then passed down to Ezra Steiner, next was Alvin Steiner. Alvin and Matthew had a partnership and when Matthew & Gail Steiner took over the family farm with their 11 children that was the beginning of the Pine Tree Dairy farm name as it is known by today. Today Pine Tree Dairy is in the 5th generation and owned by 6 of Matthew and Gail’s children.
On the farm our passion is dairy cattle. The majority of our herd is mostly Holstein cows with a mix of Jersey and a few Brown Swiss, we milk at a few locations and are able to offer some specialty milk as A2 Non GMO. Dairy cattle genetics is a large part of our dairy farm today, and we are thankful to farm enough land to produce the feed for our cattle and also sell some cash crops.
In today’s world we are excited to be able to work towards bringing the highest quality local dairy products directly to our friends and neighbors near and far! 2020 was the start The Modern Milkman for us, which is a home delivery business that brings dairy products and other essential foods directly to your door.
Alvin Steiner had a saying “if you take care of the cows they will take care of you”. This has held very true throughout the generations and we hope to treat you our amazing customers with openness, care and offer a candid experience to see dairy products being produced from Our farm to your table.
Springhill Dairy
Founded in 1819, Springhill owned by the Lang family, has been a family farm for over 200 years.
The Dan Basse family has recently joined the Lang family at Springhill. Having a multi generational Guernsey farm, the two families are the perfect fit.
On the farm they are milking 80 Guernseys with a few Holstein and Ayrshire's, which are pasture based.
Our goal has always been to create a perfectly healthy and delicious product while not sacrificing the stewardship of our land and meticulous cattle husbandry.
Springhill has prize winning genetics that spread across 6 continents.
Springhill is located a little over 30 minutes away from Modern Milkhouse, in western Holmes County.
For more information on our farm visit springhilldairyfarm.com
Our Journey To Today
What makes us different
Our Cows
At Modern Milkhouse, we offer A2A2 dairy products. ‘A2A2’ is a natural protein found in cows. A2 is known as the original milk protein, the other natural protein found in cows is the ‘A1’ protein. The A1 protein evolved as a gene mutation over centuries of breeding. At Modern Milkhouse, we DNA test our cattle to know which cows produce the A2A2 protein in their milk. All the cows on our two farms produce only A2A2 milk! ‘A2A2 Milk’ is known to be easier on your digestive tract and have a multitude of other natural health benefits. The A2A2 milk protein varies from the A1 milk protein by one amino acid. This one amino acid difference makes all the difference in the world, by creating a shorter stranded A2A2 protein. With the A2A2 protein being a shorter protein, this makes it easier to be digested. Many who normally cannot drink milk without negative side effects or those who think they react to the lactose in the milk actually react to the protein in the milk and can drink our exclusive A2A2 Milk! At our farms we have Holstein and Guernsey cattle!
HTST Pasteurized
Modern Milkhouse will be using a HTST pasteurizer, which stands for High Temperature Short Time. In this process milk is run through metal plates heated by hot water to get milk to a temperature of at least 161 degree fahrenheit for around 20-30 seconds, immediately followed by rapid cooling. Using this method leads to consistency, efficiency pasteurizing our milk. This method leads to killing harmful bacteria, while keeping good flavor and gut health enzymes in tact.
Non-Homogenized
Non-homogenized milk (milk in its natural form) has a thin layer of cream that separates and rises to the top. Homogenization came about to give milk a similar consistency from bottle to bottle and within each bottle, making it unnecessary to have to shake milk before drinking it. We choose not to homogenize our milk because "nature knows best" and anything able to be consumed in its most natural state is always better for the body! Homogenization is a process that changes the molecular structure of the milk fat by putting it through a highly pressurized device that breaks up the molecules and changes their structure making them unable to separate from the liquid portion of the milk. Not only does homogenization change the structure of the fat molecules, it also changes the taste of the milk. Non-homogenized milk has a richer, sweeter flavor because the cream in milk has a silky texture that is lost when fat molecules are broken apart.
Why Glass Jugs?
We take pride in being sustainable. Using glass bottles have many positive effects on not just the environment, but the milk as well!
~ Glass is non-porous therefore there are no dangerous chemicals can leak into the milk, that other materials may let through.
~Glass bottles keep milk cooler for longer periods of time, keeping the milk fresh longer. Having milk fresh for a longer period of time keeps the rich flavor and consistent of the milk in tact.