Doesn’t everybody know about Mayfield Dairy products?? Aren’t they just a normal part of every American’s everyday life???

This is what we used to think, as Mayfield has been one of our favorite ice cream sources for a long time :), but about two years ago we were shocked to find out that not everyone has had the opportunity to experience the fantabulistical taste of  Mayfield’s ice creamier and milk. Why? As we soon discovered, Mayfield is only in the Southeast! There are three processing/packaging plants: one in Athens, Tennessee (we toured it in 2009), one  in Birmingham, Alabama, and one in Braselton, Georgia. Mayfield has a commitment to only delivering their products to stores that can be reached easily – without too much time spent in transit – to ensure that their products are always fresh and have a longer shelf life.

This last weekend during a short family “get-away,” we had the opportunity to tour the Mayfield Dairy plant in GA. Having loved our tour of the one in TN, we were  curious to see how much of a difference there would be, how much more of the process we would be able to witness firsthand, etc. We arrived just in time for the last tour of the day, and thoroughly enjoyed it! If you ever get the opportunity to tour one of the three plants, take advantage of it! The tours are free and absolutely fascinating, the gift shops are fun (for those of us who enjoy things like that :)), but, of course, the best part is the ice cream parlor!  Mmmmm…. you have to experience it to know exactly what we’re talking about…

While touring, we found out some incredible facts that were absolutely too interesting to not share. Some of them apply to the dairy industry in general, but most are individual to Mayfield.

~ Mayfield milk contains no artificial growth hormones

~ The plant can process and package 150,000 gallons of milk on an average day

~ 1 milk truck (you know, the ones you see on the highway that just look like sparkly-clean gasoline carriers) holds 6000 gallons of fresh milk

~ The milk trucks have no cooling system, but are insulated, like a thermos

~ The average cow can give 8 gallons of milk every day

~ It takes all the milk given in a day by 750 cows to fill just one milk truck

~ The plant gets about 20 full trucks every day

~ The milk for this particular plant can come from farms as far away as Indiana, but can only be transported a maximum of 96 hours

~ Milk, arriving in the trucks at above 42 degrees F, is rejected (If that does happen sometime, doesn’t it make you wonder what they would do with 6000 gallons of warm milk?? 🙂 We didn’t get a chance to ask that question…)

~ Once arriving at the plant, the milk is transferred from the trucks into gigantic, metal towers that are kept exactly 23 degrees F even on sweltering summer days (talk about a powerful refrigeration system!!)

~ Mayfield milk gets it’s “distinctly-fresh-all-year-long” taste from a system unique to them, called Aro-Vac. It is a process that heats the milk and removes the steam, which actually serves to withdraw all unusual flavors in the milk that result from undesirable things the cow has eaten (such a onion grass, etc.). Even though this plant packages milk for other brands (particularly Great Value – from Wal-mart), the Aro-Vac system is still used exclusively on the milk labeled Mayfield.

~ Mayfield milk is always packaged in yellow jugs, which keep UV light rays from affecting the taste and decreasing the nutrients

~ The bottling system at Mayfield can produce 6000 sealed, “ready to purchase” gallon jugs every hour, or up to 300 pints a minute

~ Mayfield stamps an expiration date for exactly 18 days after the milk is sealed inside the jug, but the milk is usually still good for 5-10 days after the expiration date

~ After the milk is processed and packaged, it is sent to a giant refrigerator that holds approximately 600,000 gallons

~ Mayfield milk isn’t processed on Wednesday and Sunday

~ Mayfield’s total annual production is 69 million gallons of milk, and 28 million gallons of ice cream!

We thoroughly enjoyed our “get-away,” and learned a lot in the process! For your information, Mayfield tours make great home school field trips! 🙂

An interesting thought: next time you have the opportunity to visit or tour any sort of factory, plant, museum, etc., TAKE NOTES and ASK QUESTIONS on what you hear and learn. In our individualistic society, this can have a great impact. No one is used to seeing and meeting people who are interested in the lives of others or things other than themselves. We found that when the guide saw that we were actually interested enough in what he was showing us to WRITE IT DOWN, he was noticeably impacted and we were able to have a more powerful influence for Christ. Plus, I think he threw in a little more interesting trivia, just for the notepad!! 🙂