Sales manager Linda Kay will attend the Virginia Wine Expo in Richmond on Saturday, February 27th, where she will be doing tasting from the Whole Foods Pavilion. For more information about the expo visit their site.
Prices are available on request via email, fax, or mail. To request a current price sheet, call us at 888.236.0622 or
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.
We ask that all new vendors fill out our credit application before their first order.
The Farm
We are a seasonal grazing dairy, milking from March through December, timing peak nutritional needs of the cattle with the peak of grass growth. We make cheese April through November. As we progress through the milking season, the grass and therefore the main diet of the cows changes, enabling us to make unique cheeses with seasonal variations. The deep yellow color of our cheese reflects this grass based diet and the high beta carotene content of our milk.
Due to our seasonal nature and the different aging periods of our cheeses, Grayson is generally available from June through March, Appalachian is available from June through April, and Mountaineer is available from November through July.
This season we will be milking around 80 Jersey cows and diverting approximately twenty percent of our milk to cheese, which allows us to use only the highest quality milk for every batch of cheese we make; we always make cheese within two hours of milking, so that the milk is at its freshest. All of our cheeses are raw milk and naturally aged from a minimum of sixty days to over a year.
Shipping
Our standard shipping method is via UPS ground. Three day select is used for any shipment requiring 5 day ground service. Next day and second day is available by request. We ship on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday to avoid the possibility of shipments staying in transit over a weekend. We prefer to receive orders at least one day prior to shipping to allow for pre-chilling the product.
All shipments whenever possible are wrapped and chilled in refrigeration overnight before shipping in order to lower the temperature from the higher temperatures required for proper aging.
The quantity of ice packs placed in each box for each shipment is adjusted according to changing weather conditions on a daily basis. Weather temperatures are checked at the destination and areas in between. Ice is placed in the upper sections of the containers and on top of the cheese itself when possible.
All of our cheese is shipped in either Styrofoam or Reflectix lined cardboard boxes. Our tests have shown equal performance from both methods. The boxes are made up as needed the day prior to shipping. Whenever possible we use recycled coolers and packaging material.
All labels on boxes and the boxes themselves are stamped "Perishable - Please Refrigerate".
Grayson is shipped 4 wheels to a case, Appalachian and Mountaineer 2 wheels per case. We can also ship partial cases of any cheese.
Our full color labels are also available on request for all the cheeses at no extra charge.
Commitment to Quality
Meadow Creek Dairy is committed to producing the highest quality and safest food products possible for our customers. We work to control the safety of our products from the raw milk produced from our own animals to the final cheese ready for sale. Our ability to control the environment from start to finish allows us to focus on controlling and reducing microbial hazards on the farm, in the milking herd, and in the plant in the actual manufacturing of our cheese.
We follow detailed Good Agricultural Practices to protect the health and safety of our animals and the quality of milk they produce.
We follow Good Manufacturing Practices in our production areas for every function in the plant.
We utilize Standard Sanitation Operating Procedures in our day-to-day operations supervised by a certified staff member.