Shalom Farm stresses quality of its product
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Sixteen-year-old Nathaniel Meyer pours milk into tank after
milking is weighed from each cow.
Milking parlor at Shalom Farm typifies simplicity and cleai ye*
Only two cows are in the stanchion parlor at a time as each is milked separately
BY ROBIN PHILLIPS
Staff Correspondent
BETHEL Top quality and
extensive promotion are two items
that Jacob Meyer and his son,
Joseph, insist on in their family
dairy operation along 1-78 at Rl,
Bethel.
“I’m a great believer in ad
vertising,” Meyer states.
“It’s my opinion if farmers
would improve milk quality, it
would help the dairy situation. I’m
still convinced that if you put out a
better product, more people are
going to buy it.”
Meyer and his family operate
Shalom Farm. They sell raw milk,
ice cream, and cheese. Although
very small by today’s standards,
milking 12 cows, they incorporate
all the modern, time-proven
practices in their operation.
They milk in a two-stanchion
parlor with one bucket milker.
Milk from each cow is weighed
every milking and they are on an
owner-sampler DHIA testing plan.
Cows are tied in a well bedded,
loose housing type barn and fed a
16% gram mix with alfalfa and
grass hay several times a day.
Udders and flanks are also chipped
and cows are kept extremely
clean. Shalom Farm may not be
representative of a large working
dairy operation, but the cows,
equipment, products, and methods
reflect the individualized attention
paid to every detail by this family
“They get individual attention,”
Meyer’s oldest son, Joseph, says
about the cows. Ayrshires and
Jerseys make up the milking
string and receive weekly in
jections of vitamin B when they
are under stress and milking
heavily, milking is done every 12
hours and the cows are always
handled very gently.
“I enjoy it,” Jacob Meyer says
about milking chores and adds that
he considers the cows as his hobby.
"These little cows are in
telligent,” he says. "They’re
almost like part of the family.”
Meyer currently has a small
Jersey cow milking 71 pounds a
day that he is very proud of.
Purchased by Meyer at a dispersal
sale, very cheaply, Meyer says
that every 18 days, “Tis” milks her
weight in five percent milk.
Meyer explains that they started
with several Ayrshires and
decided to add some Jerseys for
the higher quality milk. Jerseys
were also easier for them to
handle. “I was raised with colored
cows,” he states.
Jacob Meyer’s mam occupation
is that of a preacher and teacher.
He is the founder of the Assemblies
of Yahweh, a non-profit, religious
organization that follows faithfully
the literal interpretations of the
Bible. He does extensive research
Jacob Meyer, whose main profession is teaching and
preaching with the Assemblies of Yahweh, Bethel, says he
enjoys milking cows as a kind of hobby.
Joseph Meyer, oldest son, displays products sold at Shalom
Farm, where quality takes precedence over quantity and
foremost concern is a high nutritional, unadulterated
product.
around the world and teaches
Hebrew and Greek.
Meyer and his older sons also
also do missionary work on several
continents. Meyer ancestors came
from Germany in 1719 and settled
in Lancaster County. In 1732, they
started farming in Lebanon County
and the current operation was
started in Berks County in 1977.
"One of the reasons for this
farm,” Meyer explains, "is that we
wanted really good products for
our families.” In keeping with this
principle, they raise their own
vegetables, meat and milk. Their
Pennsylvania approved raw milk
license enables them to sell their
milk right out of the tank.
The requirements for the license
were very stringent, according to
Meyer. “But that’s what we want,
quality,” he says. An ultraviolet
purifier was installed for the
water, milk is cooled down to 32
degrees in less than one-half hour
in their “ice bank” tank, and
bacteria counts as low as 700 with
less than one cohform are main
tained. All equipment is com
pletely taken apart and cleaned
after each milking.
"Our milk is virtually as pure as
pastunzed milk and yet it has the
natural enzymes in it,” Meyer
states.
To keep their milk fresh, excess
milk from retail sales is picked up
at the farm every other day by a
cheese plant in Winfield. There, it
is traded for high quality cheeses
that are sold in their store. Some of
their milk is also shipped to a
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