Since Max Radloff started the business in 1894, Minerva Dairy has remained a family-owned creamery rooted in Minerva, Ohio. Now led by fifth-generation siblings Adam Mueller and Venae Watts, the company carries its butter-making tradition into a seventh generation while working with local pasture-raised family farms. It is best known for its slow-churned 85% butterfat butter and also serves food manufacturers with ingredient cheese.
Toft Dairy, IncFive generations of the Toft family have made milk, ice cream, and other dairy products in Sandusky since 1900, making Toft Dairy Ohio’s oldest dairy. The family-owned company works with 13 nearby farms that deliver fresh raw milk to its plant daily, where it produces its “One Quality” products and supplies four scoop shops as well as wholesale customers. Its Tilly mascot, named for founder Matilda Toft, carries that century-plus local history into newer creations such as Tilly Tracks ice cream.SANDUSKY, OH
Clark Farms CreamerySince 1907, the Clark family has farmed in Delhi, New York, and Clark Farms Creamery now turns milk from its own five-generation herd into minimally processed dairy products. Kyle Clark returned home with an agricultural sciences degree in 2018 and reopened the family’s former creamery as a 21st-century dairy lab in 2020, serving the Catskills with fresh milk and hand-packed butter.DELHI, NY
Kriemhild Dairy Farms, LLCFarmer-owned Kriemhild Dairy Farms makes small-batch butter and other dairy foods in Hamilton from milk sourced from grass-based herds in Central New York. Founded by the Rivington family after they purchased Red Gate Farm in 2000, the creamery brought butter-making and packaging in-house in 2019. Its signature Meadow Butter is slowly churned from organic, grass-fed milk, connecting the finished product directly to the pastures that supply it.HAMILTON, NY
Smith'sSince 1909, Smith’s has been a family-owned and operated dairy maker, producing milk and other dairy products from local farm partners. Its story began with two brothers, a five-gallon freezer and family recipes, and the company still churns ice cream in small batches with long-standing employees. Smith’s recognizable yellow containers are designed to block light and help keep its products fresh.ORRVILLE, OH