Promise Valley Farm and Creamery Opens

Dairy farmers Mark and Caroline Nagtegaal of Promise Valley Farm and Creamery are up to something so brand new, you might think it was old-fashioned. With a dozen Guernsey cows milked twice daily in their Richard’s Trail barn parlour, Promise Valley is processing and selling whole milk and cream-top yogurt right from the farm.

Guernsey milk is a rarity in Canada yet has a taste like no other: rich and simple, with a creamy golden hue made lush from beta carotene. Besides, it’s full of A2/A2 proteins that many people are able to digest and tolerate better than A1 milks.

But that’s not all. Promise Valley Farm and Creamery is in the final stretch to become certified organic — which will make their little creamery the first of its type on the island, soon. Speaking of firsts, let’s talk about their milk dispensary that looks like a lonely, albeit sanitary vending machine stuck inside a walk-in closet. But looks aren’t everything! Promise Valley Farm and Creamery Opens This one is a fountain of flavour, containing a single, pure ingredient - whole, cold, pasteurized Guernsey milk. Three loonies (coins, debit or credit) fills a litre bottle that can be purchased at the farm store, five steps away. You don’t have to buy that sturdy milk bottle with the Promise Valley logo on it, but it’s recommended, since it’s yours to empty, wash and bring back to refill at the dispensary as many times as store hours allow, from 10 am to 5 pm,

Tuesday through Saturday. In contrast to the dispensary, the farm store is hands down stylin’. Bright and clean, sparkling with wood shelving and floors, it features a wall of refrigerated 750g containers of cream top yogurt in three varieties Balkan (plain), Honey and Vanilla Bean. Balkan contains just two pure ingredients: whole milk and probiotic bacterial culture. Honey is locally sourced and Vanilla Bean is made with extract. Both of these flavoured yogurts are lightly sweetened and all three varieties have a blanket of buttery, golden cream resting on the surface. The Guernsey girls at Promise Valley live a clean and good life, situated as they are in a sprawling, emerald green valley framed by Mount Richard and Sicker. The surrounding rolling hills are theirs to munch on this Spring, covered with an abundant carpet of grass, fescue and legumes. The seasons impact their bovine diet and the fat level in their milk ranges from 4.5 to 5.5 %. Numbers like these surprise some consumers and delight others who understand how healthful this type of good-for-you fat is. On the farm store wall hangs “Our Mission Statement” in which the Nagtegaals promise to treat their cattle with care and respect, steward their land with organic and regenerative practices and provide nourishing whole food to the community. “We are going back in time, deliberately,” says Mark. “We ask you to put your trust in us and in return, you’ll know where your food comes from.”

Saturday April 23 Promise Valley Farm and Creamery (7088 Richard’s Trail) will hold a Grand Opening to their farm store and dispensary, featuring an array of local vendor tents outside. Animal lovers won’t want to miss the two guided tours to be conducted that day, allowing young and old to come face-toface with some of the most docile, lovable cows on the island, be it Martha, Begonia or Tabitha.

All of these cows are ready for a selfie and hope you’ll enjoy a perfect glass of cold Guernsey milk, or bowl of cream-top yogurt when you’re back home.

Madeleine Greey is a cookbook author, baker and blogger at MadoFood.com.