Hastings Dairy

We originally found out about Hastings Dairy milk from Patterson’s apple farm in Chesterland. We decided we wanted to take a little trip so we drove out from Willoughby to get some milk. Parked and went into this little house type place had a little cooler with regular milk chocolate milk blueberry milk and cookies and cream Half pints and pints. They also had some sort of drinkable yogurt. You pay based off the honor system. We got a half a pint of cookies and cream and a pint of chocolate. I only brought $ 20 and I found a nice lady working who could make change for me (we owed $ 6). In the room was a glass viewing wall so you could see all the milking cows. Needless to say nothing much was going on we got some great creamy milk but that was it. Good milk products.

We visited as part of a guided tour of various farms in Guauga County. Here’s an excerpt of that review:
Our final stop was Hastings Dairy. This location was a first visit for us, so we didn’t know what to expect, and were definitely not disappointed. Barbara Hastings started the visit by giving us a very informative overview of their operation, the dairy farm business in general, and a lot of detail about how cows «work». My 3 year old definitely appreciated the adjacent play room during this part — it was a long day for her, so she was excited to see a TON of toys for her to dive into. While the talk was quite interesting, I’d recommend toning down the level of detail on Cattle Husbandry for family friendly events. Showing artificial insemination pipets and passing around bull semen catalogs was a bit much with small children who haven’t had the «birds and the bees talk» around. Fortunately we are expert parents and can handle any challenge lol. After the overview we split into two groups. My group went first on the tractor ride around the property. We passed the large playground area with a beautiful vista of neighboring farmland. Next up was the first of two large «manure ponds». Surprisingly the smell wasn’t too bad, but i’m not going to grab my speedo and take a dip. Then we rolled into a cattle barn, where we could see the cows do what they do when they aren’t being milked — eating and sleeping. My 8 year old couldn’t stand the smell, but while it was pungent, it wasn’t terrible. I think the cows were just as curious about us as we were about them. Simply magnificent creatures! We passed another manure pond and went through another barn before ending the ride at the most wonderful surprise of the day — the baby cow area. On average 2 cows are born on the farm every day — a fact given to us by Barbara Hasting’s son who expertly narrated the ride. On their biggest day they had 9 cows born. 100 cows are due in the month of July alone. Needless to say, that many baby cows need a lot of space. There were several rows of individual pens for each calf. Each calf had their own sheltered enclosure and outdoor space to stretch their legs. They had their own individual water and food supply. You couldn’t ask for a more humane way of raising these wonderful animals. We got to get out and visit the calves for about 15 minutes. They were quite friendly. We could pet them and they were more than happy to lick our hands and arms. I even got a kiss from one right on the nose. So. Much. Fun.
After the baby cow visit, we switched places with the other group and it was time for the tour of the milking parlor. This was very educational and we learned a lot about the physical process of getting the milk out of the cows with the automated systems — something the engineer in me got quite the kick out of. We got to see the enormous stainless steel tanks that the milk is stored in before it is shipped to the cheese factory, and had a great Q/​A with Barbara. Finally it was time to taste the milk. They offered 4 varieties, of which I tried all 4. Multiple times. The flavored milks were especially delicious. We ended up purchasing a half-​gallon of the orange creamsicle flavored milk. Again — Yum!