For my independent field trip, I went to Shunpike Dairy in Millbrook. Shunpike Dairy is a small dairy farm with a herd of 25 cows. However, unlike a majority of the other dairy farms in the Hudson Valley, including the one that we want to that’s a part of Hudson Valley Fresh, Shunpike Dairy is unique in a particular way: they sell exclusively raw milk. Raw milk can be quite hard to come by, because it’s not legal to sell it in stores. Raw milk hasn’t been pasteurized, and as a result it’s hard to regulate–it could be unsafe to sell in stores because of the pathogens that can occur in unpasteurized milk. However, it is perfectly legal for Farms like Shunpike Dairy to sell raw milk at their own farm.
The way it works at Shunpike is this: you drive up, and park your car just anywhere on the farm. It really looks just like a regular small farm; there’s no storefront or farm store or anything. You walk up to the barn enter a small room next to the barn with a sign on the door that says “raw milk inside.” Inside that room, there’s a spout attached to the large machine that churns the milk; you serve yourself the milk from that spout. They have mason jars in different sizes available for you to take for a small price, or you can bring your own from home.
Their sales operate on an honor system; when I went, there was no one there. You add up the prices for the milk you’ve bought and the mason jar you’re taking it home in, if like me you forgot to bring your own, and you leave the correct amount of money in a jar. Shunpike also sells eggs from a nearby chicken farm, and bumper stickers that advocate for raw milk, the sale of which is a pretty politicized issue for many farmers. According to their website, they also often sell raw honey and maple syrup.
Even though no one was there, the barn was open and I was able to go inside and say hi to the cows! They had a small herd of probably about 30 cows, all of whom were very friendly. Shunpike was definitely the smallest-scale farming operation I’ve been to. They seem to be very integrated with the community, and they’re dedicated to keeping farming alive in the Hudson Valley. Perhaps most importantly, the milk was incredible! Raw milk doesn’t taste drastically different from pasteurized milk, but it just tastes better: it’s incredibly fresh and creamy, and is great in coffee. Overall, I loved the experience of visiting and buying milk from Shunpike and will definitely do it again!