I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream

You could say that residents of Morgan County had one sweet summer this year. After much anticipation, the Milk Barn Creamery finally opened their ice cream shop on July 1, 2023. They are located on 185 Commercial Street. With delicious homemade flavors ranging from Banana Pudding to Raspberry Cheesecake, customers are guaranteed to find the perfect mix-in for their delectable dairy dessert.

The Milk Barn Creamery began as a local farm owned by the Rose family. The Rose Family has deep roots in Morgan and the farm has been operating on the same property since it was settled in 1874 by August Edward Rose. The Rose Family Farm has been passed down from generation to generation for many years. Eventually, August passed the farm to his son Parley who then passed it on to Otis. To keep the legacy going, Otis passed the farm to Rodney Rose. Currently, the fifth generation of Roses operates the farm and they are committed to maintaining the legacy and traditions of producing high-quality dairy products that were established in previous generations. When Rodney Rose retired, the farm was passed on to his son Aaron and his wife Lisa. Aaron and Lisa started the Milk Barn Creamery with their four growing children to provide farm fresh raw milk products to the public. To learn more about the history behind the Milk Barn Creamery, visit milkbarncreamery.com.

Trevor Rose, the youngest of the six Rose children and brother to Aaron, serves as the full-time manager of the ice cream store. As the manager, he has been kept busy the last few weeks of the summer. On the first day the Milk Barn Creamery ice cream shop was open, they sold 96 gallons of ice cream. The Roses thought they had made more than enough ice cream, but they had already sold out everything they had prepared for opening day. As a result, they had to close for the next three days to make more. They reopened for business on July 4.

When Rodney was operating the farm, the workload of a full scale dairy farm was unsustainable. In 2010, Rodney began to gradually reduce the size of the dairy herd and by 2013 there were only two milk cows left on the farm. These cows provided the family with fresh milk. According to https://milkbarncreamery.com/, “not wanting to let the legacy die, the family explored an opportunity to bottle and sell raw milk directly to consumers from the farm.” The first jugs of milk were sold in November of 2014 and the decision to create a niche market ended up saving the Rose family farm and their dairy legacy. The farm sells raw, unpasteurized milk directly to customers and packages their own artisan cheese curds available for purchase at both the farm and at the ice cream store. The Rose family is licensed and inspected by the state to sell raw milk to customers legally. In addition, these dairy products are all locally made in Morgan; there is no buying and repackaging. For those interested in trying one of their gourmet cheeses and/or dairy products, the farm is located at 745 West 2225 South.  

Lisa Rose developed all of the recipes herself, including Lemon Bar and Cookie Butter Crunch. Both of these flavors are unique to the Milk Barn Creamery. While the building was undergoing renovations Lisa began the process of experimenting with the recipes that they would learn to call theirs. She researched and followed guides online for basic recipes, playing with them from there to make them her own. “We tried a lot of ice cream!” Trevor commented. “We had so much ice cream that I didn't want any more for a long time!” According to Lisa, the top five most popular flavors are Cookies and Cream, Raspberry Cheesecake, Cookie Butter Crunch, Lemon Bar, and Root Beer Float.

“We are very passionate about tradition,” said Trevor. “That’s always been our main motivation. Our farm and business is super important to us. For some of the family it’s been a full-time job. My dad would wake up super early, work on the dairy, go to work all day, and come home to continue working on the farm. It takes a lot of work to keep the tradition alive. One of the reasons we started the shop is that we want to highlight the fact that Morgan has some great heritage. There are families up and down Morgan Valley that have entire generations behind its agricultural history. It’s a huge part of our economy and who we are as individuals. It embodies what Morgan’s all about: grit your teeth and get it done! Tradition means doing something for those who came before you and those that will come after.”

The Rose Family would like to give a special thank you to the citizens of Morgan and they express their gratitude for such an amazing welcome of their new ice cream store. “Holy cow!” Trevor said. “The community came out in droves when we first opened. We know that being part of a community comes with support, but we were shocked how generous people were to set aside a part of their day to come try our ice cream. It was a very humbling experience. Morgan is truly a great place.”λ