While the tours take place only at the storefront, at 1600 Main St. in Ely, expansions to the farm will make it possible for groups to visit it gain the true farm-to-table experience.
“Last year we started building a viewing area on our milking farm, so that way we can welcome tours,” Rozum said. “We’re hoping to wrap up construction by the end of the year, then we’ll be able to make the tour component full circle by seeing the farm side and the production side.”
Tours occur three days a week, at 10 a. m Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Admission cost is $4.50, with tax and includes a private creamery tour as well as a single scoop of ice cream. Small and medium-sized groups can schedule tours up to two months in advance.
Since tours resumed in mid-June, spots have been filling fast.
“It’s clear to me that people crave things to do right now and if they get a learning opportunity and some ice cream at the same time, that’s a pretty cool thing,” Rozum said.
Compared with a large dairy corporations that typically focuses on one facet of the dairy industry, Dan and Debbie’s smaller-scale process allows them to exercise control over products they produce and how they produce it.
“We have control long before the milk arrives here, basically what the cows eat,” Rozum said. “We grow all of the crops on our family farm and harvest them ourselves. We tailor our cows’ diets to really provide high-quality flavor to our milk and our products. So every little step we do in the processing farm-to-table, affects how it tastes. I also think a really unique thing is being a small organization and operation, we can get a little bit more creative and experiment with flavors.”