Locally produced milk now on the shelves of certain Whitehorse stores
CBC
Five years ago Krista Roske and her husband Jason talked about expanding their farm to include a year-round source of revenue.
"We were looking for something to turn our hobby farm into a commercial operation," said Krista.
Now, Sunnyside Farm Yukon located in the Ibex Valley just outside Whitehorse, is the only dairy farm in the territory that produces and sells milk.
"We love cows and they all have their own names and their own personalities," said Krista.
While Krista works full-time outside of the farm, Jason takes care of milking and feeding the cows twice a day, and processes the milk every two and a half days, depending on the volume.
Right now, they are milking four Jersey cows at the farm — the second largest breed of dairy cattle in the world — with another six to arrive before October.
One of the cows calved the fifth member on Saturday, the family decided to name the baby Amethyst.
The pasteurized whole milk can be found at two Whitehorse stores — Tum Tum's Black Gilt Meats and the Super A in Porter Creek. However, that list is expected to grow.
"We'll be adding stores slowly and we'll post that on Facebook as we go," said Krista.
On April 8, the couple announced in a Facebook post the farm was officially licensed to sell commercially.
"It was such an achievement, but we're exhausted," Krista said.
Although the couple is excited to hit the market, the journey to become an official dairy farm came with "a lot of hurdles," from getting certified to buying equipment to adhering to the proper amount of vitamin D per batch, Krista said.
Krista and Jason spent three years creating a business plan, from finances to certifications.
"The milk regulations are very old here. They're from 1962," said Krista, who took two semesters of milk processor training courses through the B.C. government.