Young’s Jersey Dairy blends agritourism, household enjoyable, and custom – Ohio Ag Internet

By Wyatt Morrow, OCJ Field Reporter

For practically seven a long time, Young’s Jersey Dairy has been creating reminiscences for households whereas connecting shoppers to agriculture. What started as a small farm retailer promoting milk on to clients has grown into considered one of Ohio’s most acknowledged agritourism locations, welcoming near 1 million guests every year.

Located simply outdoors Yellow Springs, Ohio, Young’s Jersey Dairy traces its roots again to 1869. The operation guests know right now, nevertheless, started after World War II, when Hap Young repurchased the household farm after it had been misplaced throughout the Great Depression. Alongside his sons Carl, Bob, and Bill, Hap farmed the 60-acre property whereas renting extra acreage to develop grain, elevate hogs and milk dairy cows.

In 1958, the household started promoting Jersey milk instantly from a small room hooked up to the milk home. Customers grabbed glass bottles from a fridge, left fee on the consideration system, and headed residence. The idea shortly proved profitable, resulting in the primary devoted dairy retailer in 1960 and an increasing lineup of milk, cheese and ice cream all through the next a long time. One distinctive characteristic was the chance for guests to observe merchandise being made, making a connection between shoppers and the farm.

Today, the identical dedication to agricultural schooling stays. The authentic manufacturing area now serves as an academic space for varsity excursions, giving college students a firsthand take a look at meals manufacturing and trendy agriculture.

“That’s why we have a lot of school tours out here, because there are very few places like us that you can go visit,” mentioned John Young, the fourth-generation within the household enterprise and CEO, or as he’s higher recognized, the CIEIO.

Young’s official title displays the playful environment of the enterprise. He serves as Chief Ice Cream, Entertainment and Inspiration Officer, or C-I-E-I-O, a title born from a joke throughout a podcast he hosted together with his daughter.

“C-I-E-I-O was the punchline to a joke,” Young mentioned. “I don’t remember the joke anymore, but I remember that was the punchline.”

The joke might have pale, however the title stayed round. Young mentioned his advertising and marketing staff shortly latched onto the thought and insisted it wanted to develop into official.

“The marketing team said, ‘That has to be your title,’” Young mentioned. “So I said, ‘Okay, then you need to come up with what the acronym means.’”

While the dairy operation continued to develop by means of the a long time, the Young household seen a shift in buyer conduct throughout the early Nineteen Nineties. Visitors had been not stopping solely for milk, cheese, or ice cream. Instead, they wished to spend extra time on the farm. Young mentioned the conclusion got here after the household operated a number of satellite tv for pc shops in close by communities.

“People were coming here more often than they were going anywhere else because they wanted the farm experience,” Young mentioned. “People want to come here. People are pretty detached from farm life, but it’s even more so now. There’s just not a lot of places to visit that are an active farm.”

That perception sparked a change that will form the way forward for Young’s Jersey Dairy.

In 1993, the farm launched its first miniature golf course, Udders & Putters. The concept originated throughout a household trip to Myrtle Beach, S.C.

“It was a weird idea to tear down a cornfield and build a miniature golf course, but we convinced the bank, and the bank was like, ‘Let’s give it a shot,’” Young mentioned. “It turned out to be the right thing to do.”

The miniature golf course was adopted by a driving vary in 1995 and batting cages in 1996. Additional points of interest finally included prepare rides, pumpkin choosing, a corn maze, kids’s play areas, and seasonal occasions. What began as a dairy farm had develop into a vacation spot the place agriculture and leisure labored hand in hand.

Despite the expansion of the leisure facet of enterprise, agriculture stays on the heart of the operation. Young’s continues to take advantage of Jersey cows on-site and makes use of the milk to provide farmstead cheese. Since launching the Young’s Farmstead Cheese in 2009, the dairy has produced varieties together with cheddar, Colby, Swiss, Gouda and contemporary cheese curds.

In 2021, Young’s opened a brand new state-of-the-art Dairy Store, relocating from the constructing that had served clients since 1968. The facility greater than doubled the accessible area for company and contains viewing home windows that enable guests to look at cheese and ice cream manufacturing.

The enlargement displays the operation’s ongoing dedication to enhancing the shopper expertise whereas sustaining connections to agriculture. One of the most recent additions to the farm is Cowtherine’s Carousel, which opened in 2024. The venture was led by John Young and options custom-designed animals impressed by the dairy’s historical past and do-it-yourself ice cream flavors.

The carousel contains {custom} Jersey cow figures, hand-painted horses, and different animals impressed by well-liked ice cream flavors, together with a number of distinctive options that commemorate the farm’s heritage. The attraction has shortly develop into a favourite amongst guests.

Beyond leisure, Young’s stays dedicated to serving its neighborhood. The enterprise employs a whole lot of seasonal employees every year, a lot of whom are working their first job.

“We’ll peak out at 350 in the summer,” Young mentioned. “We’re a great first-time job.”

Today, Young’s Jersey Dairy welcomes roughly a million company yearly. Families go to for ice cream, cheese curds, miniature golf, seasonal points of interest and alternatives to expertise life on a working farm.

While the enterprise has developed considerably since its humble beginnings in 1958, its mission stays largely unchanged.

“While we sell a lot of food and ice cream, our main product is fun, entertainment, and helping to create memories,” Young mentioned.

For generations of holiday makers, Young’s Jersey Dairy has develop into greater than a spot to purchase ice cream. It has develop into a vacation spot the place agriculture, schooling and household traditions come collectively, guaranteeing that every go to creates a brand new reminiscence whereas preserving a connection to Ohio agriculture.