Our Country Store Refrigerator is always stocked.

OLD FAMILY PHOTOS
COMING SOON.

dairy barn

Holstein coming in to be milked.

The double 10 all exit barn
where the cows are milked 20 at a time.

Gallons of milk being filled.

Warren & Sandra Smith in 2005, familiar figures to many as they deliver Smith Creamery dairy products to retailers across south-east Louisiana

Smith Dairy Farm AT MT. HERMON LOUISIANA IS A FOURTH GENERATION TRADITION, and growing.

Smith Creamery is the processing arm of our dairy business. bottling all of its own milk from cows on the Smith Dairy Farm, a 250 acre pastureland farm named after the original founders.

We are located in Washington Parish between Franklinton and Kentwood (see map), one of only two dairy producers/processors/retailers in Louisiana. We milk our own cows, pasteurize and bottle the milk in our own production facilities, and we sell it fresh to you, either through the area stores we service, or in our own Country Store right here on the farm (photo left).

Below is a brief history of our business.

1930's
The first Smith Dairy Farm began in Mt. Hermon (located in Washington Parish) in the mid to late 1930’s. This tradition began with Fleet and Martha Smith, who milked by hand in a 3 stanchions flat barn. At that time they were milking between 5 and 18 cows and transported their milk by horse and buggy in 5 and 8 gallon cans to the milk plant located 14 miles away in Franklinton.

1940's
In 1946, their son Hardy Smith got out of the military, at which time, he and his wife Wilkie Smith began their dairying career. They milked cows in the same flat barn as his father except it was renovated to have 3 stanchions on one side and 4 stanchions on the other. They called their dairy farm Pecan Hill Dairy because of the Pecan orchard they planted next to the original dairy barn.

1950's
Washington Parish passed a tax to build a milk processing plant in Franklinton, LA. Milk was still being transported in milk cans loaded on a horsedrawn buggy, and Hardy and Wilkie Smith were still milking their cows by hand. In 1957 they built a parlor barn with 4 stanchions (gated milking stall). They also installed a pipeline which carried the milk to a refrigerated bulk tank. The upgrade to the barn also included four Surge milking machines. With modern technology beginning to enter the dairy industry, tanker trucks began transporting milk to the milk processing plants.

1960's
In 1967 their only son, Warren Smith married Sandra Marie Smith (no relation) and there, they began the third generation of the Smith Dairy Farm. They continued to milk in the four-stanchion barn, and sell milk wholesale to the milk processing plant in Franklinton.  Their son, Travis Warren Smith, was born in 1969.

1970's
Their daughter, Mary Michelle Smith, was born in 1972.  In 1974 they added 2 more stanchions.

1980's
The Smith Dairy Farm was becoming an increasingly family affair. The dairy grew to around 300-350 milk cows and the Smith's were farming around 240 acres of land to feed the Smith family, cut hay for the cows, etc.

1990's
In 1990, the "double ten all exit barn" was built, with 20 milking units available. This was necessary to streamline the dairy business because of the increasing number of cows being milked.

2000's

By 2000, dairy farming in Louisiana and throughout the United States had changed. Small family-owned and operated dairies were disappearing rapidly as more milk was being shipped in from California and the northern states. Milk cows grazing in pastures became a rare & unusual sight. Warren and Sandra had to rethink the way they would operate the dairy to make it profitable, environmentally friendly and less labor-intensive.

After much study, they realized that downsizing the herd was possible by returning to the time-honored practice of grass farming. After a few years of experimentation that led to the decision that grazing was the best means of feeding their cows for a premium product, everything else was beginning to fall into place. The cows were healthier and happier, the milk of a higher quality, and the tractors were in the fields less.

By 2002 times were still changing—The Smith family had grown some more. Michelle had married Tommy L. Hickman Jr. in 1995, and they had 2 beautiful children, Kaitlin Alexandra Hickman (born 2000) and Cassidy Danielle Hickman (born 2002). As times changed, the family tried to think of ways to survive changes in mass produced dairy products & remain viable providing a quality product.

In March 2002 Smith Creamery ceased supplying the majority of its milk to the bottling plants, set up its own Creamery, and bottled its first milk of the century, opening its doors to the community by delivering its own label. With much confidence and pride in their quality products, they began introducing them to surrounding parishes and are still involved in this process. As they hoped, Smith Creamery whole milk, chocolate milk and butter have been great hits.

As 2003 rolled around things were really getting busy at Smith Creamery. They were bottling more and more of their own milk, selling less raw milk to other milk plants.  They added skim milk and heavy cream to their product line.  Michelle and Tommy’s family expanded June 05th, 2003 when their triplet sons arrived---Austin, Preston, and Brody. Travis Smith took over running the dairy farm.  Michelle handles sales.  Warren & Sandra drive the delivery trucks, and set up the booth every Saturday at the Farmer's Market in Baton Rouge.  And the grandparents, Hardy and Wilkie, ran the Country Store on the farm up through 2004, when they finally retired in their late 70's.  Hardy still helps bottle the milk, though. The whole family is involved.

By 2004, hired help was needed for the Creamery to continue to grow, including delivery truck drivers, and plant workers.  But the goal, says Michelle, is "we keep it as family as we can." The highlight of the year was Smith Creamery being awarded the Grand Prize for Butter by the Rosengarten Report.

As of 2005, the Smiths are now processing all the milk their cows can produce.  They are processing around four times a week and getting the milk to store shelves within 12 hours of leaving the cow.  Says Warren and Sandra (in the delivery truck - left), "its a full time job, 365 days a year, but we're a close family and proud of our dairy and we love our country lifestyle!"

WHAT MAKES ALL OF SMITH CREAMERY PRODUCTS DIFFERENT FROM THE DAIRY YOU BUY IN THE GROCERY STORE?  Read our Dairy FAQ's