Fordland dairy pulls family back to their farm

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Three years ago, the Kensinger family of Fordland made a bold decision. After 25 years of selling their milk to dairy cooperatives, they took their business in a new direction. |ret||ret||tab|

The result of their labor is Memory Lane Dairy. |ret||ret||tab|

The 1-year-old dairy bottles and sells its own milk from its store on U.S. Highway 60. The dairy also sells its milk which is packaged in nostalgic glass bottles at 15 locations in the Ozarks. |ret||ret||tab|

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Family affair|ret||ret||tab|

According to Vicki Kensinger, a founder of Memory Lane, the family business really began with her three children Luke, Paul and Holly. |ret||ret||tab|

"They had shown an interest in wanting to come back to the farm, but there is no way you can purchase land and expand a dairy and expect to provide a living for four families. It's just not feasible with the price of land." |ret||ret||tab|

Undaunted, Vicki and David Kensinger found a viable alternative. |ret||ret||tab|

"My husband reads a lot, and he kept reading about these small family dairies that were bottling their own milk that were surviving." This discovery led the Kensingers into a long process of research, much of which was conducted by Luke Kensinger, Vicki and David's oldest son. |ret||ret||tab|

As the research progressed, creating such a dairy seemed an increasingly feasible option. But the Kensingers had immense obstacles to overcome if their vision was to become anything substantial, and each family member continues to play a role in meeting that challenge.|ret||ret||tab|

From the inception of Memory Lane Dairy, all involved understood the magnitude of the challenge. Paul, the Kensinger's middle son, was completing his degree at College of the Ozarks when his parents approached him with the idea for Memory Lane. Faced with the choice of obtaining a secure job or joining his family on an uncertain venture, Paul chose his family. |ret||ret||tab|

Holly, their daughter, tended to the aesthetic considerations of the new business, including the company logo and slogan "Fresh from Udder Country" which adorn its glass bottles. She also brings her skills as a banker to the family business and is in charge of most of the bookkeeping. |ret||ret||tab|

Holly's husband Clyde Hensley assists the family with herd management. Leslie Kensinger, married to Luke, helps with bottling milk and running the storefront. As Memory Lane became more of a reality, Vicki and David had to assume new chores in addition to their daily farm duties. Financing and a location had to be secured before their endeavor could progress any further.|ret||ret||tab|

Vicki Kensinger's pride is evident when she speaks of her children.|ret||ret||tab|

"They're all sharp. They all had better jobs," Vicki Kensinger said. "And I really feel like they have all said in their hearts that they're going to give this thing a decent go." |ret||ret||tab|

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Getting started|ret||ret||tab|

Acquiring a loan proved difficult for the Kensingers. Aside from Memory Lane, only four dairies in Missouri bottle and sell their own milk. |ret||ret||tab|

"Nobody does it," Vicki said, "I mean nobody. We had to know enough to make to make them see that there might be, at one time or another, a black instead of a red." |ret||ret||tab|

The loan enabled the Kensingers to concern themselves with the matter of location. |ret||ret||tab|

Since their farm is not electrically equipped to power the necessary machinery, they bought an aging locker plant about two miles away. This purchase had the advantage not only of access to power but also of high visibility along U.S. Highway 60. The building's only drawback was its need for serious renovation. With the entire family assisting, these renovations took 18 months. |ret||ret||tab|

"It was bigger than I had realized," Vicki Kensinger said. |ret||ret||tab|

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On the shelves|ret||ret||tab|

Jane Cogdill of Cogdill's Country Store believes that Memory Lane's success may be due in part to its wholesome appeal and nostalgic glass bottles. |ret||ret||tab|

Cogdill's was the first outlet for Memory Lane milk aside from the Kensingers' own store; Cogdill says she has customers who travel from Arkansas to buy it. |ret||ret||tab|

People are noticing this little dairy, even without knowing its background or the fact that all of the Kensinger's cows have names and are free of artificial hormones. |ret||ret||tab|

"It's done very well. I think people are wanting to get back to more natural foods. There's no aftertaste and kids who don't like milk this is all they'll drink now." Cogdill said. |ret||ret||tab|

Meanwhile, Vicki Kensinger said she considers every day a learning experience. |ret||ret||tab|

She is cautious when speaking of the future. |ret||ret||tab|

"We'll take each step as it comes," she said. "We have really high hopes that this will be a profitable thing that the kids will be proud of. Who knows what the future's going to hold. But if we can make this thing work then maybe that's what it will hold."|ret||ret||tab|

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