OUR STORY
Farmstead Creamery
Family Owned and Operated
in Northeast Iowa
ABOUT COUNTRY VIEW DAIRY
In May of 2002, Dave & Carolee Rapson moved to Hawkeye, Iowa from Michigan to pursue a dream of starting their own dairy farm. For Carolee, it was the preservation of a family legacy. For Dave, it was the evolution of a love for dairy farming discovered at the age of 17. At that time, Dave began working at a neighboring dairy farm. He held that job for 9 years, eagerly learning all he could about the great agricultural tradition of dairy farming. Later, Dave became the Herdsman and eventually the Herd Owner of another dairy farm. These pivotal experiences for Dave, combined with Carolee’s background and knowledge of the profession, led them to purchase their own dairy farm and begin a homesteading life together.
For 9 years, they happily grew their farm. Then, in 2011, with 5 children ages 4-17, the Rapson family knew that they must start thinking hard about the future of their farm. With the extreme challenges faced by many dairy farmers, they knew that they would have to create something truly special to build a lasting enterprise.
Carolee had been making wonderful homemade yogurt for a couple of years and knew how to create a product that their family enjoyed on a small scale. After discovering that there weren’t any other yogurt producers in Northeast Iowa, and that there was a demand in our community for local, healthy, all natural, cultured foods (like yogurt), they decided to pursue the unique art of making yogurt on a larger scale.
COUNTRY VIEW DAIRY IS BORN
In September of 2011, the Rapsons built a brand new, state-certified creamery right on the farm. The creamery pumps farm fresh rBST-free milk less than 50 feet over from the milk house to make our signature product: all natural, creamy, and delicious farmstead yogurt.
All of Country View Dairy’s yogurt varieties are made from high quality Grade A pasteurized milk from our own healthy and well-loved cows. Our milk is non-homogenized, allowing the cream to rise to the top the old-fashioned way, with the added benefit of making it easier to digest. Each flavor is made with the highest quality ingredients and cultures, and each is “all natural” in every way, containing no preservatives, no gelatin or other thickeners, and no artificial ingredients and is always gluten-free.
In the summer of 2013 the Rapsons decided to pursue a line of Premium Frozen Yogurt mix and have been adding flavors as we perfect each one. They are proud to offer our line of frozen yogurt soft-serve in several restaurants, colleges, and schools and eagerly anticipate this product line to grow in the future as popularity of frozen yogurt increases each day.
In 2019 the creamery added their cream-line milk including the Barista’s Best line for coffee shops & award-winning chocolate whole milk.
By the numerous accolades for milk quality and herd production they have received and the 365-days-a-year that they spend making their farm and creamery successful, it is clear to see that they love what they do. The Rapsons hope that you will enjoy their yogurt & minimally-processed farm fresh dairy products for many years to come!
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