Jackson Farms discontinues bottling, sale of milk at market
For more than six decades milk directly from the cows at Jackson Farms has been a Fayette County delicacy, but the farm announced this week it will be discontinuing sales of their freshly bottled milk.
Owner Bill Jackson said a major part of the decision came down to increased prices since the end of the pandemic.
“Particularly containers, but everything we buy is doubled. We haven’t increased sales enough,” Jackson said.
He added that people are generally consuming less milk, or instead drinking non-dairy alternatives.
“It has been coming for a while. It wasn’t something we just decided overnight. We’ve had a lot of conversations for quite some time now,” Jackson said.
While the business will no longer produce milk that is branded and bottled as Jackson Farms, they will continue to produce milk that will be sold to Schneider’s Dairy in Pittsburgh. Schneider’s partners with 40 farms in Western Pennsylvania to bottle and sell their milk.
The Schneider’s brand will be sold at Jackson Farms convenience store on Route 40, and Jackson said they are also considering stocking milk from Harmony Acres in Belle Vernon.
The store will continue to have plenty of options for customers, however.
“We have all the gasoline, and a small amount of groceries. We still do hot lunches. Potato salad, pasta salad. There are some bakery items. Those things will all still be there. We still make our ice cream,” Jackson said.
Muriel Nuttall, executive director of the Fayette Chamber of Commerce, expressed the importance of agriculture to the county.
“Those farms are a really important component to who we are and our local economy. We are equally saddened that there will not be a Jackson Farm milk brand in our markets,” Nuttall said.
With dairy farming in particular, Nuttall said that minimum pricing set by the Pennsylvania Milk Board can sometimes leave farmers in a tough spot.
“So to a great extent, the dairy farmers, the milk producers, they’re limited. They can’t adjust their prices to match the requirements in the area. That’s where it gets challenging. When the cost gets tied up close to the minimum they can sell it for, you can get into tough decisions,” Nuttall said.
Nuttall notes that farmers of all stripes have faced hardship recently with a lack of rain in the region.
“The economics of Fayette County are diverse, but that agriculture community is a critical part of the fabric of Fayette County. Our objective is always to support those local farmers … It’s a tough industry right now, as a county we are focused on supporting it in any way that we can,” Nuttall said.
Nuttall described Bill Jackson as an “incredible partner” to the Fayette business community.
“We are glad that they are still going to be in place. The farm is still going to produce their fabulous ice cream,” Nuttall said. “We are just incredibly thankful to the Jackson family for all of the work, everything they’ve done over the years, and hope for a continued partnership moving forward.”
Jackson said the decision to cease the bottling and sale of their own milk brand was “very difficult,” particularly with how long they had offered the product.
“At this time, we feel it is the right decision for us,” Jackson said.