Appleton, WI – Red Barn Family Farms of Appleton was recognized as a Rising Star business by the Wisconsin Economic Development Council, or WEDC, during the Governor's Conference on Minority Business Development in Milwaukee on October 16.
Paula Homan, co-founder of the specialty wholesale supplier of premium milk and award-winning cheese, was honored as the women-owned business Rising Star during an awards luncheon at the conference, which offered training opportunities for minority-owned businesses as well as introductions to government and large corporate buyers. The award recognizes businesses with great promise that have been in business less than five years.
Established in 2008 by Paula Homan, and her husband, Dr. Terry Homan, large animal veterinarian, the mission of Red Barn is to help reinvigorate small Wisconsin family-owned dairy farms by creating an economy that values these farms and the families who operate them.
Paula Homan said, “At the heart of Red Barn Family Farms is the inseparable link between the health and well-being of cows and the quality and taste of the milk they produce. We require rigorous standards for animal health, comfort and milk quality. The result is milk and cheese of outstanding character, and whole new markets for Wisconsin family-owned dairy farms and the good families who make their living from them. This award recognizes their irreplaceable value and work ethic.”
Red Barn has tapped into consumers’ desires for a closer connection to the source of their food and for more accountability in how it is produced. Red Barn Family Farms are the only dairy farms in Wisconsin to have the American Humane Association certification. Farming on a smaller scale allows Red Barn Family Farms’ products to meet an increasing demand for not only locally produced food, but for food that has been produced ethically and sustainably. Farmers are paid on an innovative new pay structure, apart from commodity pricing, that rewards their dedication to Red Barn’s rigorous standards for milk quality and animal husbandry, or humane treatment of animals.
Paula Homan explained, “When we established Red Barn in 2008, we weren’t simply trying to ‘get a piece of the pie’ in the local, sustainably-produced food market. We were fighting to keep a piece of the pie, to sustain and preserve a disappearing segment of Wisconsin's agriculture, the small family farm and the heritage of excellence in dairy farming that they represent.”
Success has come in the form of fluid milk sales to large food service clients and individuals who appreciate the difference in the taste of Red Barn milk. Homan explained, “From the time our
company was founded in 2008, one of our biggest challenges has been to change the commonly held notion that milk is a commodity, that ‘milk is milk.’”
Countless taste tests and product demonstrations helped validate that how milk is produced affects not only its quality and cleanliness, but also the flavor. Those taste tests helped to replace commodity milk even in large food service venues.
Furthermore, Red Barn cheese has earned the company a significant number of awards, medals, and accolades. In March, the dairy won gold, silver and bronze medals in the mild-medium clothbound cheddar category for its Red Barn Heritage Weis at the 2012 World Cheese Championships in Madison, while Red Barn Heritage Weis Reserve won gold and silver medals for aged bandaged cheddar. In 2011, just three years after establishing Red Barn, they had already earned a silver medal for their Heritage Weis in the U.S. Cheese Championships and a gold medal for Heritage Weis Reserve.
Red Barn Family Farms recently unveiled Edun, its New Zealand -style raw milk cheddar cheese and will shortly release its 3-Year Heritage Weis Reserve. Red Barn Family Farms award-winning cheese is available at www.redbarnfamilyfarms.com and select retailers and restaurants across the U.S.
As part of the WEDC Rising Star application process and competition, Homan submitted her company’s business strategy, recent performance statistics, and future plans. The award includes both a commendation and a monetary award toward future investment in Red Barn Family Farms.
Photo Caption (see attached): Paula Homan, co-founder of Red Barn Family Farms in 2008 with her husband Terry Homan, DVM, was awarded the 2012 Rising Star award by the Wisconsin Economic Development Council. The award recognizes businesses with great promise that have been in business less than five years.
Red Barn Family Farms is a deliciously distinctive dairy procurement company that derives its prize milk and cheese from the lush green landscape of eastern Wisconsin. Co-founded in 2008 by Dr. Terry Homan, large animal veterinarian, and his wife Paula, the mission of Red Barn is to help reinvigorate Wisconsin family-owned dairy farms by creating an economy that values these farms and the families who operate them.
Innovative Red Barn Rules are a set of rigorous quality, animal health and operational requirements. The rules set new industry benchmarks that link excellence in animal husbandry, or humane treatment of animals, to excellence in food quality. In a major shift from commodity style production, Red Barn’s pay structure for farmers is specifically designed to reward both exceptional milk quality and animal husbandry.
Red Barn Rules place each of the eight Red Barn Family Farms in the top tier across the industry for milk quality. Red Barn Family Farms are the only dairy farms in Wisconsin to have American Humane Association certification through annual independent third party inspections of each farm. Red Barn milk is rBGH free, each farm must be family owned and must be its primary source of livelihood. The majority of the farm labor must be performed by family members. Farms milk 70 cows or fewer; each cow is known by her name, (not a number); and they live longer lives than the industry average. For more information, please e-mail paula@redbarnfamilyfarms.com or www.redbarnfamilyfarms.com
Source: Red Barn Family Farms
