🎧 Episode 110 of the Hay Kings Podcast
📲 Listen anywhere you get your podcasts
Jon Paul Driver sits down with Jacob Cummins of White Pine Flats Farms to talk about an unexpected return to dairying—not with 100 cows, but with two.
What started as a way for Jacob's kids to show dairy cattle has grown into a licensed micro dairy selling milk directly to consumers. Along the way, Jacob shares the challenges of navigating regulations, finding new revenue streams, and building a business that fits alongside a hay and beef operation.
They cover:
🥛 Why Jacob started a micro dairy after nearly 30 years out of the dairy business
🐄 The economics of selling milk directly to consumers
🌾 Diversifying a hay and beef operation with a new income stream
🏛️ Washington's dairy regulations and the realities of small-scale processing
🚜 Old tractors, Detroit Diesels, forage harvest and why older equipment still gets the job done
🌱 Trying pearl millet, improving grain establishment, and sharpening the pencil on today's farm
🤝 Why consumers want to know their farmers again
Jacob shares a practical look at building a small business that complements—not replaces—a family farm, while reflecting on why relationships, local food, and diversification may become increasingly important for agriculture.
Hosted by Jon Paul Driver
Sponsored by Krone – Dedicated to Hay and Forage Producers
🎧 Listen anywhere you get your podcasts