Award-winning creamery networks for sustainability

One of the largest commercially operated goat dairies in the Finger Lakes continues on through what was arguably its most difficult year.

Lively Run Dairy, a family-owned and operated creamery in Interlaken, like many farms in the region, faced numerous challenges presented by the pandemic in 2021. Owners Susanne and Steve Messmer, along with sons Pete and Dave, started brainstorming and looking at alternative ideas when considering sustainability in an ever-changing landscape.

Partnering with fellow farmers as well as community members, Lively Run Dairy quickly realized that combining resources, sharing ideas and networking was the best option to maintain operations. It would also help other farmers and people in the community struggling through unprecedented times.

“With the closing of restaurants in 2020, there was way more cheese than we knew what to do with,” Susanne said. “Dairy farms were still getting milk, and they were starting to just dump the milk because there was so much of it and no use for it.”

Production at Lively Run Dairy ceased at their home location six years ago, having most of their production and product being sourced from Buffalo. Originally having 30 milking goats, they expanded to having 120 at their home farm in the Interlaken and Trumansburg areas. The need for larger facilities led them to partner with the Gable family and to expand their operation to 500 goats.

“It’s a fancier and newer building than the one we have here,” Susanne added. “It has a new enclosed ceiling, which is important because you get no excrement, debris or contaminants that could fall from above. It also creates clean ventilation. It adheres to the animal standards agreement we maintain and has double the space than normal standards for the goats. There is an open area for the goats to frolic and outside as well, which makes them very happy.”

With the supplies from their own production exceeding demand and with fellow farmers facing the same dilemma, Susanne started thinking of other ways to use the product and help her colleagues also navigate and survive these trying times.

“There was so much milk being dumped that I decided we needed to do something about it,” Susanne said. “We use milk to make cheese, and there were people in need. Our farm started a GoFundMe page to purchase the dumped milk. We planned on using the milk to make cheese that we could then donate. Within one week, we had reached $50,000 and we purchased the milk for double the standard price and a show of solidarity for the struggling dairy farm that had the excess so we could help them sustain as well.”

With Lively Run Creamery adding cow’s milk cheese to its collection in 2013, cheese production accelerated, and the farm came up with ideas as to how it could be used in ways that could benefit as many people as possible.

Coordinating with Melissa Madden, facilitator at Press Bay Alley in Ithaca, Susanne donated to multiple facilities and food pantries throughout Tompkins County. The decision was made to alleviate some of the food insecurity felt by community members also suffering from the effects and fallout of the pandemic.

“I have to give the credit to Melissa Madden not only for coordinating how the donated items would be donated but for facilitating pickup for delivery,” Susanne said. “People had to come here to pick up the product for distribution. She handled all that. The cheeses were donated to food pantries in Interlaken, Lodi, Ovid, Ithaca, Corning, Newfield, Lansing, Cortland and Seneca Falls.”

With a difficult year behind them, the Messmer family looks forward to getting back to normal operating standards in 2022. Although closed for the end of this year’s season, the award-winning dairy farm has already started scheduling events for the spring.

Spring events include craft sessions, like making felted animals, demonstrations where visitors can watch the shearing of Angora goats and the spinning of their fleece to cheese samplings and pairings. Messmer said that events will be announced on their website at livelyrun.com.

Lively Run Dairy products can be purchased through its website as well as locally at GreenStar Food Co+op, Trumansburg Shur-Save and the Triphammer Road Ithaca Coffee Company location.

“I’m so grateful for this community,” Susanne said. “The local farms and the community have pulled together to support each other. Without the love we have for each other, I don’t know if any of us would have weathered the last year. The local farming community really pulled together, and we were all able to make it through and we were able to donate product that helped the community make it through. I really love this community and I’m looking forward to the new year. I just hope everybody has really happy holidays, that they get to spend with loved ones and things are great going into the new year for all of us.”

Trumansburg Connection appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com.