Friday, 28 September 2012

Announcing the Rock Ridge Blog

All our Feed produced right here
Welcome To The Bos Farm and Rock Ridge Dairy!

- Where it really is from farm to fork

We have started a new blog to tell people about our operation. We hope you find the pages informative.



It's Milkig time
Patrick and Cherylynn Bos own Rock Ridge Dairies in Ponoka.  Rock Ridge Dairies is one of only four goat milk processing companies in Alberta.  Rock Ridge Dairies provides goat milk and goat milk products to Western Canada under Happy Days and Oak Island brand names.

 
Our large feta table
Patrick and Cherylynn began farming in 1998 with 50 heifers.  Cherylynn worked as a Technologist at Lacombe’s Field Crop Development Center with the Centers’ plant pathologist.  Patrick worked briefly at a feedlot and then as a custom relief milker.  After researching new opportunities, they acquired a herd of 50 goats and began milking while both working full time.  They purchased older milking equipment and installed it themselves.  .  In 2004, the plant that they milked for declared bankruptcy and that led them into a chain of events that changed their farm forever.  They began shipping to Crystal Springs Cheese farm and investigated the value added industry.  The owner planed to retire in a year.  They decided that they wanted stability for their farm so they became processors themselves.  Cherylynn began learning how to make cheese and worked at Crystal spring for free in exchange for their expertise.  After Crystal Springs Cheese was sold, they rented a cheese facility until they found another processor to take their milk.  They formed an alliance with Happy Days, a goat milk company in BC to bottle fluid milk under the Happy Days brand name.

 
Patrick and Cherylynn were married in 1997 and now have four children.  Amelia is 9 years old, Connor is 8 and Jocelyn is 6 years old and Adelle is 2.   The Bos farm has been host to many school field trips from kindergarten to university students.  Two hundred people tour their farm every year to see the goats and try some goat milking and cheese.  Patrick and Cherylynn are active members of their church and work hard to encourage the youth of their community and increase their understanding of food production.  Patrick and Cherylynn are involved in an international youth agricultural-tourism and work experience program coordinated with the University of Ecuador.  They have hosted 10 students over the past five years.

 
Rock Ridge Dairies now processes goat milk from five farms.  Now with a recently completed addition Organic Cow milk will be added to the product line up for 2013.