MT. PLEASANT

(Story published in The News on Thursday, June 15, 2023.)

The only dairy farm for miles, Hilltop Dairy Inc. has been serving up fresh milk for the better part of 80 years, consistently since the 1980s. Hilltop works in partnership with Prairie Farms, which co-ops many farms across the Midwest to bring fresh dairy products to grocery shelves.

Changing it up from previous years, Hilltop is trying a new, smaller and more intimate farm experience this summer with “Dairy After Dark,” a ticketed event geared towards moms to break myths about dairy products.

Madi Skubal works on the farm with her father, Doug Skubal, who owns the farm. Madi Skubal had to cancel the farm’s popular Dairy Days event due to a slew of issues, but gets to work on Dairy After Dark, an idea born during the age of COVID, but the pandemic canceled its first attempt at life.

Dairy After Dark’s tickets w ill go live June 14. The event will be held Sunday, July 30, starting at 3:30 p.m.

Dairy After Dark will function in three stages, the first being a tour of the farm and a way to debunk myths about dairy products. The second, labeled “The Importance of Dairy,” will be headlined by dietician Kennedy Youngren who will speak on the importance of dairy in an adult and child’s diet. The third stage is when Madi and Doug will answer any questions brought to their attention. The small setting will breathe fresh air into the realm of knowledge, giving everyone their fair chance to ask and learn.

“It’s a start. Hopefully next year if we do this, I can open it up to more people but with it being the first year, [I] was just going to keep it simple,” Skubal said. “Our past event, it’s been like 300 people show up and it’s really hard to find us to ask questions. I really wanted this event for them to ask any question.”

Madi Skubal is proud of the event she’s assembled, especially since it includes numerous small businesses interwoven at every stage of the event. Pizza will be served by Stone Wall Pizza out of Wellman. Drinks are being served by Mama Llama’s Barn, based in Washington. They will display flowers from a local shop in Washington. Prairie Farms is donating products for folks to try. And of course, Hilltop can provide the rundown on farm life better than most.

But what is the Hilltop farm experience?

Hilltop houses around 160 dairy cows that are regularly milked on 12-hour intervals, 3 a.m. and 3 p.m., with handy machines replacing the need to hand-milk the cows, something that would take ages to complete. The milking process happens year-round with no breaks.

“It’s actually funny how many people still ask [if we milk] by hand. It’s the 21st century. We have cars that park themselves; don’t worry, we don’t have to [milk] by hand,” said Skubal who noted that they still test-milk by hand before attaching machinery to finish the bulk of the work.

The closest dairy farm to Hilltop is in Kalona, keeping Hilltop the lone dairy producer in their area. They are also one of the only non-Amish farms in the area, giving them a unique perspective and voice.

“Since dairies [are] not dying in the U.S., but [they’re] going down in numbers, we’re able to share the dairy story with many people, so that’s fun,” Skubal said. “I get to host events, and not many farms get to host events. That’s always something I love about our uniqueness; I get to share our story more than other industries in [agriculture] do.”

Hilltop grows the food that feeds their cows, keeping their diet in close proximity to home. It also keeps the diet naturally balanced.

The farm chooses how the cows breed to make sure they’re getting top milk performers. About 85% of the cows are crossbred to get the best results, and cows that will not be good production cows are sold to a farmer in Kalona after about four months on the farm.

Skubal runs an Instagram and Facebook account, challenging herself to post content that can educate and entertain those interested in the farm life. Skubal always wants to paint a full picture in the most truthful colors while using social media. Skubal also challenges the norm by being a woman farmer.

“It’s not always sunshine and rainbows, we have great days and then we have crappy days,” Skubal said. “I always try to share father-daughter moments together and all the funniness that goes with that. And I’m a mom too. If I’m doing it with my child, you should feel comfortable feeding milk and yogurt to your child. Getting that relationship [is important].”

Something Doug Skubal wanted everyone to know is that he credits everything he has learned to Larry Hershberger, a good friend of his. Skubal has owned the farm since he was a young man alongside his brother.  He earned his degree at Ohio State University, to help aid in his work. Eventually, Skubal became the sole proprietor of the farm, seeing Madi join him full time in 2017 after receiving her education from Iowa State University.

Hilltop’s Dairy After Dark event will be a great opportunity to interact with the farm lifestyle, and with a short supply of tickets, make sure to lock yours up as soon as possible.  Tickets go on sale June 14 for $50 individual; call Madi Skubal to reserve yours 319-461-8241.  Hilltop Dairy is located at 3340 Spruce Ave, Mt. Pleasant.