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March 29, 2010

Growing and learning

Hillside Farms' mission is to nourish area's body and mind

By Terrie Morgan-Besecker tmorgan@timesleader.com
Law & Order Reporter
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SHAVERTOWN – Hillside Farms has long been known for producing high quality dairy products.

If Doug Ayers has his way, it will soon become as well known for nourishing peoples’ minds as it is for feeding their bodies.

Ayers is the president of the board directors of The Lands at Hillside Farms, a nonprofit organization that began operating the sprawling, 412-acre dairy farm five years ago.

The group continues to run the retail store that produces the milk, ice cream and butter that area residents have grown to love. But its mission goes far beyond just providing food as it turns its focus to becoming an educational center that teaches the public the importance the local farm plays in the community, Ayers said.

“It’s more than just a nice place to get an ice cream cone. It’s here to teach the world a better walk in life,” said Ayers, 48, of Trucksville.

Stroll through the farmlands any summer afternoon and you’ll see dozens of cows leisurely grazing on grass. The freedom to roam and graze makes for a much happier heifer, Hillside’s executive director, Chet Mozloom says, but one that produces less milk.

“It makes them happy and healthy, but they’re also burning energy that could be put into producing milk,” Mozloom explains.

On most dairy farms the cows are tied to a stall and never move, maximizing their milk production. The volume of milk production is crucial to a dairy farm’s financial survival. So why would Hillside do something that lessens volume?

It all goes to the farm’s broader mission of producing truly organic food and providing educational opportunities for the public, Ayers and Mozloom said.

The farm hosts dozens of events each year for school children, as well as the public in general, to give them a first-hand look at how a farm operates. It also offers a variety of educational classes, such as how to grow your own garden.

In addition to dairy products, the farm grows a small amount of produce and hopes to soon branch out into growing flowers in several historic greenhouses on the property, Mozloom said.

“We love it when someone buys a head of lettuce from us, but we’d be just as happy teaching them how to grow their own,” Mozloom said.

It’s not exactly a recipe for corporate success, but that’s quite OK with farm’s all-volunteer board of directors.

Hillside Farm has been around since the 1880’s. In 2005, Ayers, a local veterinarian and avid land conservationist, lead the non-profit group that began operating the farm under a lease-to-own agreement with its then owners, the Conyngham family. The group operated the farm for four years before completing the purchase last year.

It’s truly a labor of love for those involved.

Mozloom, 37, of Swoyersville, took a $7,000 pay cut when he left his job as a statistical analyst for Prudential Insurance to become Hillside’s executive director.

“I felt like there was a greater purpose to be part of something that will hopefully be here after I’m gone,” he said.

Ayers, who owns the Plains Animal Hospital, spends dozens of hours at the farm each week and is among its main benefactors.

Volunteers are crucial to the farm’s survival. It’s staffed by a combined total of around 50 full- time and part-time employees. They are joined by 250 volunteers, who do everything from mowing the grass to removing cow manure from the stalls.

“They get nothing back but the satisfaction they feel. That’s what it all about,” Ayers said.

The farm operated on a roughly $2.1 million budget last year. Of that $1.7 million came from the sale of dairy products and other revenue taken in for things such as admissions to events and rental of the farm’s cottage for weddings, Mozloom said. The remainder comes from grants and donations.

To be certain, the production of milk and ice cream remains key to its existence. The facility produces about 20,000 half gallons of hard ice cream ice cream each year. That’s In addition to the 110,000 gallons of milk and 3,500 pounds of butter.

The production of ice cream is a relatively simple process. An ice cream mix consisting of cream, sugar and flavoring is pumped into a bulk tank, then piped to a batch freezer – a cylinder with a set of blades inside.

As the mix enters the mixer, it begins to freeze on a light layer on the cylinder walls. The blades then scrape the frozen mix off the sides. Five gallons of ice cream mix will produce roughly nine gallons of ice cream.

Hillside’s products are made from all natural ingredients. The chocolate milk, for instance, consists of cocoa, cane sugar and cream.

The approach is what makes Hillside appeal to its loyal customers, who are willing to buy the products, even though they cost a little more.

The dairy sells milk it produces, known as “Hillside Gold” as well as milk from other local dairy farmers. A half gallon of Hillside Gold costs roughly 75 cents more than the milk it sells from other dairy farmers, and about $1 more than milk purchased at a grocery store.

“It’s all about the ingredients,” Mozloom said. “The way we do it, tastes way better. People will pay more for that kind of milk.”

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