At Clover Farms, we are passionate about what we do. There are approximately 6,600 dairy farms in PA today, the second largest number of dairy farms in the country, and we are excited to be one of them!
Clover Farms is proud to be the largest privately owned dairy company in PA. We were established in 1937 in Reading, PA, in the rich, rolling hills of Pennsylvania Dutch dairy country. Our eight employees delivered 300 quarts of milk to local customers every day.
Today, we have about 300 employees and process over 3 million pounds of milk every day that is delivered throughout Eastern Pennsylvania (including Philadelphia), New Jersey, New York City and Long Island, Maryland, and Delaware.
Cold-shipped for maximum freshness, our dairy products include:
- Vitamin D/Whole Milk
- 2% Jog Milk (Reduced Fat)
- 1% Trim Milk (Low Fat)
- Skim/Slim Milk (Nonfat)
- Chocolate Milk
- Egg Nog
- Coffee Creamers
- Half and Half
- Light Cream
- Heavy Cream
History of Pennsylvania Dairy Farming
The first British colony was founded in America in 1607 at Jamestown, which is now in the state of Virginia. Records from the time indicate that immigrants brought cattle with them from Europe. As the colonies expanded, cattle moved with the settlers to provide them with meat, dairy products, and leather.
The Pennsylvania Colony, founded in 1681 by William Penn, was blessed with a mild climate, abundant rainfall and rich soils, and was ideal for farming. By the 1840s, over 90% of Pennsylvania’s working population had become involved in agriculture.
As the demand for milk and dairy products grew in Pennsylvania and the nation, the dairy industry began to flourish in Muhlenberg Township in Berks County, with prominent dairy farms meeting the need, including St. Lawrence Dairy (1888), Muhlenberg Dairy (1916), Dietrich’s Milk Products (1926), and Clover Farms Dairy (1936).
These dairies had their own processing plants for pasteurizing and bottling milk. Fleets of delivery trucks would pick up raw milk from the farm in the early morning and deliver bottled milk to customers, door to door, on daily routes.
In the early 1960s, the Pennsylvania Milk Marketing Board changed how milk was priced, making it more for dairies to sell their milk in stores, and home milk delivery ultimately came to an end by the late 1980s.
Today, Pennsylvania is ranked 6th in the nation in total milk production, with 525,000 cows producing more than 10.8 billion pounds of milk annually. The state has more dairy farms than every other state except Wisconsin. The average herd size is around 80 cows, and 99% of all dairy farms in Pennsylvania are still family owned.
What Are the Health Benefits of Dairy Products?
Milk, cheese, yogurt, and other dairy foods are excellent sources of protein and vitamins for people at all stages of life – growing children, teens, athletes, adults and seniors.
Cow’s milk is a great source of nine essential nutrients, including calcium, riboflavin (B2), phosphorus, vitamins A, vitamin D, vitamin B12, niacin, potassium, and pantothenic acid.
A single 8-ounce serving of milk has 8 grams of protein, which builds and repairs muscle tissue in comparison to an 8-ounce serving of almond milk, which has only 1 gram of protein.
Studies show that dairy products, when they accompany a healthy diet, may help reduce the risk of osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes, and can improve overall bone health.
Learn more about PA dairy farms or build your brand with private label milk products from Clover Farms that will distinguish your business in the marketplace. Contact us at (610) 921-9111 to get started.