The Graham Acres Homestead and Creamery is now a certified micro dairy farm in Terrace BC, making it one of only 55 provincially licensed dairy plants in BC.
After three years of work, the farm received certification on June 20 under the Milk Industry Act. Owner Dena Leier said it came through after they put forward applications for licensing and paperwork to the BC Center for Disease Control, BC Agriculture, Northern Health Authority, and met the milk industry standards.
The next nearest farm is located in Salmon Arm, so Graham Acres is the only dairy farm in the northern health region.
Dena and her husband Brad are both dietitians with a new young family and wanted food security, food sovereignty, food seasonality for their children, which led them to a own a farm in Terrace BC.
At Graham Acres, they raise chickens and bees and had garden boxes, wanting more for their farm someone had gifted them goats, although they were not milking goats it lead them to there current venture of a dairy farm. Currently, the farm is home to three cows, 22 goat kids (babies), 14 nanny goats (mamas), 40 rabbits, 25 laying hens, and 20 ducks and pigs. The micro dairy currently produce approximately 16 liters of milk a day. Leier and her husband are very happy with the current size of the farm and have no immediate plans of expanding.
Now officially licensed, the farm’s main concern is maintaining the homestead as is and the owners have plans on developing recipes in the fall.
Listen to the interview with Dena Leier below:
