The Cowichan Milk Company is going back to the future.

Owned and operated by two generations of the vanBoven family on their dairy farm south of Duncan, the has found inspiration in the past in a bid to bring locally produced milk to Cowichan Valley consumers.

Not only is the milk created by local cows munching on local grass, it is also delivered throughout the Valley in old-fashioned glass bottles by the farmers themselves.

Ben vanBovenB次元官网网址檚 parents purchased the farm on Koksilah Road in 1960. He and his wife, Margie, took it over in 1993. In 2016, as a way to get their son, Matt, involved, they went to work on the idea of bottling milk right there on the farm and selling it to a thirsty local market.

B次元官网网址淒ad thought about it for a long time that he wanted to sell milk in the local area,B次元官网网址� explains Matt, 28.

From start to finish, planning, researching and building the facilities took the vanBovens about two and a half years, and the first Cowichan Milk Company bottles B次元官网网址� proudly labelled as B次元官网网址淟OCALB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� went on sale this past Labour Day.

B次元官网网址淚t took a long time to put this thing together,B次元官网网址� Matt admits, somewhat wearily.

Constructing the barn and the expected bureaucratic red tape in establishing a food-based business were challenges, but the vanBovens also had to track down equipment small enough for their operation, travelling as far as Missouri and southern California to find what they needed. Most dairies today are much larger than the Cowichan Milk Company, and therefore so is modern equipment, so they had to find vintage gear.

B次元官网网址淎 lot of our equipment is from the 1950s, and weB次元官网网址檝e refurbished it to make it work,B次元官网网址� Margie says.

The vanBovensB次元官网网址� 50-cow farm is one of the smallest dairy operations in B.C., and it wasnB次元官网网址檛 going to be enough to provide jobs for two generations. Since high school, Matt had worked away from home in the winter, coming home to help during crop season. A value-added family business proved to be the solution to that dilemma.

B次元官网网址淣ow that we have the next generation, we wanted to do something to keep Matt on the farm full-time,B次元官网网址� Margie noted.

The vanBovens used to sell all their milk to Island Farms via the BC Milk Marketing Board B次元官网网址� as all dairy farmers in the Valley have to do B次元官网网址� and while the milk truck still comes for a portion of it, the family is now able to bottle and sell a good amount under their own label.

HereB次元官网网址檚 how it gets from the barn to the doorstep:

The cows are milked in their roomy barn by a robot, which has 24-hour access so they can be milked whenever they want. The rest of the time, they can eat, sleep and roam around as they like.

From there, it goes into a tank, where it is cooled, and then pumped from the barn to the bottling plant. The cream is separated to the desired percentage B次元官网网址� the Cowichan Milk Company makes four styles: two per cent, 3.8 per cent homogenized, 3.8 per cent cream-top, and 10 per cent half-and-half B次元官网网址� and then pasteurized. The milk is pasteurized using an old method known as B次元官网网址渓ow and slow,B次元官网网址� which uses lower temperatures and a longer heating time, which retains more of the natural enzymes in the milk.

After that, it gets bottled into fresh, clean bottles that are washed onsite that day. About 1,300 bottles are filled each bottling day. The milk comes in three sizes: half-gallon (1.89L), quart (946mL), pint (473mL). All the bottles are made in Ontario by the only glass milk bottle producer in North America, which also supplies the U.S. market. More than just a blast from the past, the bottles are believed to keep the milk colder than plastic jugs can, and a lot of customers prefer the taste as well.

After they are filled, the bottles go into the walk-in cooler, then to the delivery truck or to the farm stand.

All in all, itB次元官网网址檚 a pretty quick process.

B次元官网网址淭he milk is fresh,B次元官网网址� Margie says. B次元官网网址淓specially for home delivery, we bottle it and the next day we deliver it. They basically get it within 48 hours of the cows.B次元官网网址�

The farm stand is open six days a week, and home delivery is available everywhere from Mill Bay to Chemainus. The company has about 100 home-delivery customers right now, a number that is increasing every week. Along with milk, the vanBovens deliver other local food products, including eggs from Farmer BenB次元官网网址檚 and Lockwood Farms, Drumroaster Coffee, Tree Island yogurt, Haltwhistle cheese, and soup from EdB次元官网网址檚 Soup Shack.

Several local businesses have jumped on board as well, including Maple Lane Caf茅 in Chemainus, where the milk has become a huge hit. The caf茅 uses the companyB次元官网网址檚 milk exclusively in their soups and coffee drinks.

B次元官网网址淚 love the fact that theyB次元官网网址檙e doing it the old-fashioned way, with milkman delivery,B次元官网网址� says caf茅 owner Julie Stevens. B次元官网网址淚 love the glass bottles. The milk itself is a step above. WeB次元官网网址檝e had a great experience with them. TheyB次元官网网址檙e a great company to deal with. It has all been a positive experience with them.B次元官网网址�

Because they are both small, family-run businesses, Stevens says the Cowichan Milk Company was a B次元官网网址減erfect fitB次元官网网址� for Maple Lane Caf茅. The local connection was a big plus as well.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a necessity to use local as much as possible,B次元官网网址� Stevens says. B次元官网网址淎t Maple Lane, we use as much local as we call, and we pride ourselves on it.B次元官网网址�

The milk itself is creamier than what you can find on the grocery store shelf, Stevens adds, and based on blind taste tests, hot chocolate made with Cowichan Milk Company milk wins hands down.

The Cowichan Milk Company has to follow the same regulations for quality control as all Canadian dairy farms and dairies, which Matt says are the highest standards in the world. For the vanBovens, that means regular inspections at both the farm and production levels.

B次元官网网址淧eople should be really reassured that Canadian milk is high-quality,B次元官网网址� says Matt reminding consumers to look for the blue cow logo that indicates a dairy product includes .

The demand is increasing, the vanBovens say, not just for Canadian milk, but also for locally produced food of all kinds.

B次元官网网址淚 think support for local food is just really growing out there,B次元官网网址� Margie says. More and more people want to know where their food comes from.B次元官网网址�

Most of the work on the farm is done by Ben, Margie and Matt, although they do have a handful of part-time employees and students who help out. Ben and MargieB次元官网网址檚 daughters are also involved, as Amy takes care of social media for the company, and Amanda works when they need her on bottling day.

There are no plans to expand the farm beyond a family operation.

B次元官网网址淥ur goal is to only sell milk from our farm,B次元官网网址� Margie says. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e not going to become the next Island Farms.B次元官网网址�

The Cowichan Milk Company is the only operation of its kind on Vancouver Island at this point, bottling and delivering milk on the farm and delivering it to the community. Little Qualicum Cheeseworks has a milk dispenser on site, providing only cream-top milk, and on a smaller scale. There are seven or eight other on-farm processors in B.C., say the vanBovens, and they think that number will grow, although there are challenges.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 not for everyone,B次元官网网址� Margie says. B次元官网网址淵ou have to retail your product. All of a sudden, youB次元官网网址檙e dealing in a whole different area.B次元官网网址�

The hard work is worth it for the family as they deliver their milk to porches throughout the Cowichan Valley.

B次元官网网址淲e definitely take the product from the cow to the door at this point,B次元官网网址� Margie says. B次元官网网址淲e go from grass to glass, we like to say.B次元官网网址�