How We Came To Be
Dan and Debbie’s Creamery
This is the story of Dan and Debbie Takes. Two Iowa dairy farmers committed to building a sustainable farm and modern day dairy processing facility in Ely, Iowa. With the help of our children, we have dedicated our lives towards providing the freshest, most wholesome farm to table dairy products in the area.
After over a decade of raising beef cows on their small farm outside of Ely, Dan and Debbie were ready for a new challenge. Our love for cows and desire to grow our farm led us down a path to consider becoming dairy farmers. After building various barns and a milking parlor, we slowly grew our Holstein herd from 30 to 150 cows. It was only a few years into dairy farming that we became very intrigued with the idea of producing farm to table dairy products.
After years of researching small farmstead dairy processing facilities, we decided we wanted to produce our own farm to table dairy products. Some might say that the stars slowly aligned after the former Vavra Lumber Company went on the market in Ely, Iowa. It didn’t take long for our family to see the potential that building had. The location was simply perfect, being less than five minutes from the farm.
In 2013, we purchased the old lumber yard building and the renovations began. In-between the morning and night milkings, our family spent all of our free time making the necessary changes to the building in order to have it ready to produce value-added dairy products. Nearly three years later, on July 20, 2016, we made our first vat of cheese using the milk from our own dairy farm.
Today, the Creamery is home to squeaky cheese curds, handcrafted ice cream, cream top milk, and hand-rolled butter. Our family has big plans for further product expansion in the future.
- Fresh from the farm taste.
- 100% All Natural.
- Single-source.
- Premium ingredients.
- Family owned and operated.
- Locally produced.
Learn More About Us
Check out the Farm and the Creamery
The Farm
Our family farm was established in 1985, but it wasn’t until 1997 that we transitioned from beef cows to dairy cows. Our Holstein dairy herd started with only thirty cows but quickly grew over the years leaving us today milking around 150 cows. Those cow are more to us than just cows, they are part of our family. Each are born and raised on our farm in Ely. Each given a name from the time she is born.
We take great care in the raising, handling and the feeding of our cows which results in the highest quality milk. Our cows are fed a special mix of feed all non-GMO and all grown on our farm. It includes corn silage, roasted soybeans, high moisture corn, orchard grass and a mineral mix. We believe all of these factors are instrumental in creating a high quality product; whether that is milk, cheese or ice cream.
The Creamery
Prior to the opening of Dan and Debbie’s Creamery, the milk from our dairy farm was put on a truck and mixed with milk from other various farms. That was the last point that we ever saw our milk. Truly having a passion and love for dairy farming and the product we produce, it was important to us to have complete control over the product from farm to table.
We are more than just another place that bottles milk. We are an experience. At our creamery we pride ourselves on educating the public about sustainable dairy farming and farm to table products. You don’t just come to buy milk, ice cream or cheese; you come to experience the process that a raw product goes through to become an edible finished product. We control the whole process from harvesting, processing and bottling.
Meet Our Team
It’s a family affair!
We are a small but mighty team; made up of hardworking, friendly faces who make the creamery and dairy farm go round! Meet your farmer and know where your food comes from.
Stay up to date on all the latest happenings by subscribing to our newsletter!
From Farm to Fridge
We control it all
Happy cows make the best milk. Our family is committed to caring for our animals in the best way possible. We believe that happy, healthy cows give the best milk. Our creamery has allowed us to care for our animals in such a way that we didn’t know would ever be possible. The happiness on the farm shines through in every gallon of milk, bag of cheese curds or scoop of ice cream.
We bottle our milk and craft our cheese, butter and ice cream at our family creamery in Ely. Our make room is a happening place! It is here where we make all of our dairy products.
We deliver our dairy products to our partners and directly to your door! We offer home delivery for many zip codes within a 30 mile radius of Ely. So you can enjoy high quality dairy products, straight from your dairy farmer.