Milky Way Farm

Website: www.scmilkywayfarm.com

Producing Fresh Quality Dairy from Healthy, Happy Cows

In 1978, L.D. Peeler, Jr. decided to continue the family tradition and become a third-generation dairyman when he purchased 12 registered Jersey heifers from his father. This was the beginning of Peeler’s Jerseys. In 1987 L.D. decided to relocate his family and the dairy to Milky Way Farm in Starr, South Carolina. Today they milk 120 registered Jersey and maintain a small herd of beef. The Peelers believe in producing milk the way Mother Nature intended, therefore the cows are on pasture where they eat green grass, and no hormones or steroids are given to the cows. Currently the Peelers bottle and sell grade-A raw milk to health food retail outlets, and private families in search of natural milk. L.D. believes the cows come first, so the health of the cows really matters. This is why they are currently at a JPL4 level for Johnes and the current SCC for past three years has been below 250,000. The herd has been 100% artificially bred since its beginnings, and the family has been very proud to place several bulls into various bull studs across the United States. The Peeler’s children Iris and Davis grew up on the farm helping with the daily chores and showing cows in the southeast. Iris works for Fort Dodge Animal Health, a pharmaceutical manufacturing company, and works in Tennessee and Alabama. Davis has returned to the farm and works side-by-side with his dad. The Peelers hope to continue breeding fine Jersey cattle and producing the highest quality milk available.