Maple View Farm has turned the big 5-0.
The farm, which is known for its homemade ice cream and fresh milk, was established in North Carolina 50 years ago after getting its start in Maine in the early 1800s.
After realizing that North Carolina provided a better milk market and a milder climate for producing crops, the owners of Maple View Farm moved it to its current location in 1963.
The Maple View Farm is now located on 400 acres of land near Hillsborough. Bob Nutter, a fifth-generation farmer, and Mike Strowd are co-owners of the farm.
“North Carolina has been very good to us,” said Chris Nutter, Bob Nutter’s wife who maintains the farm’s records on its registered cattle.
What started with a few calves has grown into a farm that produces more than two million pounds of milk every year. There are more than 300 animals at the farm today, including 130 cows in the milking herd.
All of the cows are Holstein cows, which are black and white and produce a large amount of milk. The farm breeds Holstein cows for other farms and gives each of the cows bred on the farm the name “Maview,” a contraction of the farm’s name.
The farm installed an on-farm bottling operation in 1996. To conserve space in the Orange County landfill, milk from Maple View Farm is available to Orange County residents in returnable glass bottles. Some products are available in recyclable plastic pints.
Maple View Farm’s milk and butter are sold in 50 local stores, like Foster’s Market, which has been selling Maple View Farm milk for nine months.