Pictured: Lonnie and Rochelle Holthaus on their farm in Fennimore, WI.
“It’s an industry that we’re missing out on,” says Lonnie Holthaus as he walks through his free stall barn in Fennimore, Wisconsin. What Holthaus, owner of Milkhaus Dairy, is referring to is the A2 dairy market. After hearing about A2 in a book a number of years back, the dairyman decided to wade into A2 milk and cheese. By getting into the unique sector of the industry, Holthaus is able to set himself apart from other farms and capture a niche market that is often overlooked.
Within milk that millions consume each and every day, there are two proteins: A1 and A2. Oftentimes, when a person is diagnosed as being lactose intolerant, they are instead A1 intolerant. But, a label such as “lactose intolerant” is commonly used as a blanket title for anyone that has issues consuming dairy. This means that if the A1 protein is removed from the milk, those that are A1 intolerant are able to consume dairy products for the first time ever. “There are lactose intolerant people out there,” Holthaus explains, “but very, very few.”
“The way we look at it is we’ve found a whole new customer,” Lonnie says of the A2 marketplace. People that are A1 intolerant have had to drink almond or soy milk their entire lives; and the notion of consuming real dairy is pure excitement for them. “It’s taught us what people that think they’re lactose intolerant are dealing with,” Holthaus says. “They can’t eat mozzarella, they can’t eat garlic and dill, they can’t eat cheddar…it’s a whole new world for them.” As word spreads of Milkhaus Dairy’s A2 milk and cheese, Holthaus has seen his market continue to grow. Online sales are picking up and his products are available in a handful of grocery stores throughout the state.
It hasn’t been an easy road, though. “There’s a lot of work to it…a lot of labeling and licensing and certifications,” he says. This project, which started four years ago, is finally coming to fruition in terms of getting the product to the consumer. Despite Lonnie’s vocal support of A2 dairy products, it is still relatively unknown within the industry. “They think I’m crazy,” says Lonnie as he laughs. He says that there probably is another Wisconsin dairy farmer working on marketing A2 products, but he has yet to hear of anyone else in The Badger State that is doing this. At this point, he is perfectly okay with that.
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