The Bos Family processes whole natural goat milk and cheese at their federally inspected Rock Ridge Dairy facility located on their farm in Ponoka, Alberta . In 2012, Rock Ridge expanded their production facility and diversified their product offerings to include organic cow milk and creams. A new Rock Ridge Dairy brand has been created for their own goat and organic cow milk products.
Whole Goat Milk
The Bos’s Dairy Goat Operation consists of two 80 x 200 modern-style, comfortable, roomy open air barns used to milk the goats year round. Innovative expansions to the milking equipment has allowed for faster and more efficient milking.
The Bos Farm started with only 50 goats. Today, the farm facility has over 900 goats and milks about 600 year round. They take great care in feeding their goats a grain, alfalfa grass hay and barley silage diet all grown on their own farm to ensure the milk has a clear sweet taste.
Each goat is milked twice a day, 7 days a week. On their new rotary system 90 goats can be milked in about 7 minutes allowing for quick milking for both animal and farmer so more time can be spent on animal care. Goat milk is sent to the Rock Ridge Dairy processing plant located on the farm to be processed into fluid milk and cheese products.
Rock Ridge has been producing feta and chevre cheeses for many years using 100% goat milk with no added powders. Their feta is made using traditional methods and packaged in its own whey that naturally matches the PH of the cheese and removes the need for unnatural acidifiers.
Cherylynn Bos is the key operator of the cheese production equipment, making sure all products are processed to her standards of excellence.
Organic Jersey Cow Milk
Rock Ridge Dairy processes certified organic Jersey milk in cooperation with the Van Os Dairy farm located west of Wetaskiwin. The Van Os Dairy farm is an established family run dairy farm that has been supplying quality, fresh milk to processors for over 18 years. Since both of these Alberta families are committed to producing products in a healthy, safe and ethical manner, Rock Ridge Dairy is able to supply the best tasting, certified organic milk available from Alberta.
In 2012, Rock Ridge added 7,000 square feet to their production facility in order to increase their overall production capacity and supply the market with organic milk. Further efficiencies were made to the packaging room to allow for faster labeling.
Part of the expansion included the addition of three product blending tanks. Rock Ridge Dairy’s bottling line now allows for maximum output while requiring the minimum amount of labour.
Over the last couple of years Rock Ridge Dairy has been producing approximately one million liters of goat milk products annually. Today with the potential to triple capacity, the Bos Family hopes that grocery retailers and their customers will continue to support their endeavors.
