Jeff and Jan King owners and partners in Kings-Ransom Farm and King Brothers Dairy in New York are no strangers to the dairy industry! Kings-Ransom Farm LLC was established over a century ago and today has grown to 1,000 registered Holsteins with 3,000 acres of crops. The King family prides itself in genetic development and now has built an on-farm creamery and store to showcase its outstanding chocolate milk, ice cream and other products.
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In the early 1960’s Jeff and Jan’s grandfather and his brothers operated the dairy farm as well as an on farm creamy selling and delivering milk to Saratoga area residents. After taking a brief break from the delivery business, the King family decided to make a return in 2010 opening King Brothers Dairy, a milk processing and delivery business. In 2016, King Brothers Dairy went to all processing and bottling in-house, when they built a small creamery in an old free stall barn on the farm. Jeff’s wife, Becky, is involved with King Brothers Dairy, and Jan’s wife, Pandora, is a practicing veterinarian that does all the vet work on their farm. All their children are also actively involved in the farm or business in some way.
While home delivery is still a large part of King Brothers Dairy, an on-farm ice cream parlor and farm store were built in 2020. What started as just fluid milk products has now led to ice cream, half and half, buttermilk, and soft serve mix. King Brothers Dairy strives to build and maintain their connection with consumers. A brand and delivery route that started small has now become a “farmers market on wheels” with over 200 products such as their own beef, pork, eggs, chicken, yogurt, cheese, and seasonal ideas such as sweet corn and blueberries. They have also expanded to 35 retail stores including grocery stores, convenient stores and restaurants in New York City, New Jersey, New England, and the eastern part of New York and Hudson Valley.
With the growth and spread of their products, King Brothers Dairy entered and won a New York milk competition with their whole fat chocolate milk. This opened the door for the opportunity to partner with the American Dairy Association and provide chocolate milk for the New York Marathon female athletics as a beverage to refuel and rehydrate.
The King Brothers Dairy mission is to make fun and exciting dairy products that taste good while still building a rewarding business for their 60 employees. By making dairy products fun and exciting the King family also hopes to shed some light on the attributions of safety and high quality involved in making their products. While the dairy industry is ever-changing, Jeff and Jan hope to not only prepare their business to pass on to future generations, but also stay connected with consumers, encouraging dairy consumption and educating their local community and consumers about the dairy industry.