Often times, life reveals a path greater than anything we could have planned on our own. That’s how it worked out for Cindale Farms when they embarked upon the journey to Southern Craft Creamery.
Cindy and Dale Eade established Cindale Farms in the early 1990’s. Their daughter Meghan Austin, husband Brad and daughter Emma make up the second and third generations. Together, they milk nearly 300 cows and serve up the experience of fantastic ice cream to thousands of local supporters and tourists each year.
The idea to diversify the dairy first came up in 2010. Austin had gone away to school, worked for two years as a veterinarian, and wanted to get back into production ag. “My dad and husband had no desire to get bigger, so we needed to figure out a way to make our scale of farming work for us. We decided diversifying would be a good option for us,” Austin says.
After visiting an established artisan ice cream maker, Eade said it was an idea they couldn’t shake. “Why aren’t we doing this? We have the cows, we can learn how to make ice cream.” Austin adds, “We really felt we needed to be a bridge to bring back a connection to the consumer. And ice cream was a great entry product for us. We could sell it tomorrow or it could sit on the shelf if needed. It allowed us to make that connection we were so desperately missing between farmer and consumer.”
Cindy and Dale’s second daughter Lauren returned to the farm for a time to help get things off the ground. They spent a full year developing their ice cream from scratch, without homogenizing the base for the ice cream mix. “We spent some painstaking hours but came up with a really tremendous product and then started to build our ice cream line,” Austin says.
Southern Craft Creamery was established in 2012, and quickly took off as a wholesale operation. It was time once again to address each family member’s role in the farm and creamery. Austin says, “My parents decided to step in and take over day-to-day management and decision making at the creamery, and then Brad and I handle the farm.”
Eade adds, “Dale and I love being on the farm, but we just knew the kids had things they wanted to try, and we felt like we were getting in the way. Then we could try something new at the same time. I love it.”
The wholesale endeavors quickly built a demand for a retail outlet, so the family adapted. “We bought a building in town, the front is the retail shop, and we make all the ice cream in the back. The town supported us, the Chamber supported us – people came in wanting product almost immediately,” Eade says.
Just eight months later, hurricane Michael hit. “To say that our town was devastated was an understatement,” Austin recalls. “It was the most shocking experience. I don’t think there were really any standing electrical poles in the county.”
After more than a dozen days running on a generator, the creamery was in the first part of town to have power restored. It served as a makeshift hub for those who came to town to help. “We would cook food and serve police officers, the local community and first responders coming to help,” Austin says.
It wasn’t the last curveball to hit the farm and creamery, but the Eades and Austins have come out of each one stronger: building greater demand for their ice cream and creating more connections with their consumers.
Austin says the notion of sharing great food has southern roots going back to elaborate meals her great grandmother used to make. “It’s very much a part of this part of the country, families coming together over a meal. It’s what we want to share in our ice cream – that happiness and fulfillment spending time with those you love over a really good meal. It’s what we want to share in our ice cream.”
