Great Cheese Starts with Great Milk

As a pizzeria operator, you rely on your ingredients to perform consistently so you can continue delivering the same high quality pizza your customers have come to expect from you. You must start with high quality milk to craft traditional, authentic Italian cheeses. At Grande, we partner with local family farms who exclusively ship their milk to Grande because they are as passionate as we are about delivering high quality products.

Some farms have passed down their values 6 or more generations to guarantee the high quality milk they ship to Grande. To stay abreast of changes in the industry, many producers hold Masters or Doctorate degrees in dairy science, agriculture and other farming related topics and many have been locally and nationally recognized.

One of the keys to delivering high quality milk is cow comfort. Our family farms take immense pride in keeping their cows healthy, clean and comfortable. Here are some ways producers are ensuring their cows deliver high quality milk.

• Monitoring Cow Health is critical. Cows wear transponders providing the producer information that includes how often the cow eats by measuring chewing motion, how often they are laying down and how much milk they produce.
• Providing Cool Comfortable Environment. Cows are most comfortable in cooler temperatures so producers utilize sprinklers in warmer months to help maintain ideal temperatures for the cows. Additionally, they have large fans blowing throughout the barns. You may even find a back scratcher or two in many of the barns or hear music to keep the cows comfortable.
• Comfortable Bedding is key. Everyone wants a comfortable bed, including cows. Producers clean and groom their bedding multiple times during the day to ensure it is clean and comfortable.

Grande supports producers by providing a dedicated team to help them monitor the cow’s health and milk quality.

• Grande Field Reps visit the producer about once per week offering expertise in system cleaning, milk cooling, implementation of new protocols, calf care and animal well-being. Additionally, they provide bilingual training and support to farm employees when reviewing protocols, conducting reviews and providing general communication. At times they participate in events at the farm with equipment dealers, nutritionists and assist in business development plans.
• Grande’s Veterinarian consults with producers and their employees to review milk quality, overall milk production, cow comfort and standard operating procedures. Working closely with equipment dealers, they monitor milking equipment to maintain peak performance. They also meet with the herd veterinarian that visits the farm weekly.

Together, our dedicated producers and Grande’s field team work together to ensure our farms produce high quality, pure, clean milk. It’s why our milk is some of the highest quality milk in the nation and we’re able to produce the highest quality cheeses for you. Watch our Quality Story video to learn more about our milk producers and their commitment to quality.