meet your neighbors
Photo by Eileen Manella
Dwight Fry and his family began Ozark Mountain Creamery in 2009 as a make or break option for their dairy farm.
Expanding Through Generations a slow death like we’re doing now or we can jump in and either succeed or die a quick death,’” Teresa recalled. They built the creamery in 2009 and went into production in Ozark Mountain Creamery has grown since April 2010. Prior to having the creamery, the Frys were running the dairy farm and selling milk to Fry Dairy began in 1957 co-ops. They had sold to DFA and currently their excess milk goes to Central Equity Carrying on the family tradition of dairy farming, brothers David and Milk Co-op. The creamery sells an average of 4,000 gallons of milk a week, which constiDwight Fry and their families, of Mountain Grove, Mo., expanded Fry Dairy tutes about 75 percent of what is produced at the farm. The cows average 50 to 55 pounds into the creamery business. Ozark Mountain Creamery milk stands out in the of milk, per cow, per day according to Lori. cooler with its unique glass bottle. “They tend to give more milk,” Dwight said of their choice to have Holsteins. With dry David’s wife Teresa and Dwight’s wife Lori run the creamery, while David and Dwight cows and heifers, they have 140 head, with 90 to 100 coming through the double-eight run the farm. In all, Ozark Mountain Creamery employs 12 people including Teresa and herringbone parlor. They calve year round and use registered bulls as opposed to AI. Lori. Three route drivers deliver the milk. Currently on its fourth generation of dairy Dwight milks mornings and weekend nights, and one of their employees comes in to farmers, the tandem business is all about family. milk on weeknights. “Her name is Lily Rogers and she does an excellent job.” “The lucky part is my wife’s up at the creamery. My sons are right here; they’re milking. The farm 260 acres and the family raises the majority of their herd’s diet, which consists My brother comes and helps, he works with us. When my daughters were at home, they of corn, triticale and brome hay. were in here milking at night. We all just work as a family,” Dwight said. “We mix the commodity feed with our corn silage and our triticale and feed them TMR The original Fry Dairy was owned by Lloyd and Olva Fry. Their son Philoutside,” Dwight said. They purchase a commodity mix from Richards Brothers, lip, after returning home from WWII, helped Lloyd build the first Grade which also run a grocery and was one of the first places to sell their milk. In the barn, A dairy barn in Wright County. Phillip and Dora Fry began their own Fry the feed consists of ground corn, soybean meal and distillers grain. Dairy in 1957 in the dairy’s present location. More milk barns were add“I went to the barn with my Dad when I was no more than 8 years old. My ed (in 1990 and 2008) and after having run their father’s dairy, the brothers brother and I, we took care of calves. Once we got older we started buying calves. each milked in their own barns. David has recently retired from milking and I was probably a senior in high school when I bought my first cow; I bought Mountain Grove, Dwight’s sons, Luke and Caleb Fry, are now milking there. five. When my dad first retired, I bought his cows, about 20 of them,” said Mo. “In 2009, the milk prices were really bad. We were brainstorming for ways for Dwight of his early start in dairy farming. the farm to continue on and make ends meet. Dwight said, ‘We can either die To keep the cows healthy, they vaccinate all of the cows about two By Eileen Manella
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Ozarks Farm & Neighbor • www.ozarksfn.com
JUNE 13, 2022
