Milking R expands milk sales across South Florida

Posted 12/31/20

In the midst of adversity and struggles for the dairy industry throughout 2020, , one bright spot has been Sutton Rucks’ Milking R Dairy in Okeechobee.

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Milking R expands milk sales across South Florida

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OKEECHOBEE — In the midst of adversity and struggles for the dairy industry throughout 2020, one bright spot has been Sutton Rucks’ Milking R Dairy in Okeechobee.

The closure of schools, theme parks and some restaurants in March led to a dramatically smaller demand for milk products. That deflated demand resulted in a situation where dairy farms had containers and tankers full of milk with no one to sell it to. Hundreds of thousands of gallons of milk had to dumped. Milk futures cratered, and dairy farmers were questioning whether they could survive another down year.

While all of the was taking place, something Sutton considered a small side project for his dairy began to take off — ice cream.

Bonus becomes extravaganza

The ice cream began as just a small bonus for those who booked one of the personal guided farm tours of Miking R. But what started as a small extra quickly evolved into the main attraction at the dairy. The small batches of ice cream would sell out within minutes of an announcement being posted online. A group on Facebook called the “Milking R Ice Cream Fan Club,” where Sutton’s daughter Lindsey Rucks posts updates on when new batches will go up for sale, has grown to over 6,000 members. In the group, members devise the quickest ways to check out and pre-order the ice cream before it sells out, post celebratory pictures when picking up the dessert and write rave reviews once they try it.

“We didn’t expect this at all,” said Mr. Rucks in mid-April as his family scrambled to fulfill orders. “The overwhelming support we’ve gotten from the community has been amazing. We had 200 people show up throughout the first day to buy ice cream. And we’ve been scrambling ever since to catch up.”

“It’s an honor that we have so many people coming out and supporting us,” continued Mr. Rucks, holding back tears. “I never thought in a hundred years that someone would drive from town to buy a pint of ice cream off of a dairy farm. I think everyone loses in this situation if we lose this industry. I don’t want the consumers in Okeechobee and South Florida to lose a local supply of milk.”

With the success of Milking R’s ice cream, the dairy moved to begin bottling and selling its own milk as well. In May of this year, Okeechobee County commissioners voiced approval for a plan to allow Miking R to lease a building at the Okeechobee Industrial Park for a milk processing plant.

Available in many local spots
The ultimate goal is to sell Milking R’s milk in reusable glass bottles, but in the meantime the dairy has already began selling their milk in plastic containers. At first the dairy offered only whole milk, but in late October started shipping chocolate milk, too.

The milk is served in local restaurant’s Nutmeg’s and Landing Strip Cafe and can be bought at stores all across Okeechobee such as Thirsty Cow, Bill’s Mini Mart, Ferrell’s Market, Sweet Pea’s Grocery, Mosquito Creek Grocery, Fast Break Bait and Tackle and The Meat Shack. Stores offering Milking R’s milk have started expanding all across South Florida, including Fort Pierce, Palm City, St. Cloud, Deerfield Beach, Sebring, Juno Beach and Lake Worth.

dairy, milking R

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