Millbrook Beef & Dairy: Farming for the ‘hyperlocal’

MILLBROOK — Millbrook Beef and Dairy, located at 1348 Shunpike — at the intersection of the Shunpike and U.S. Route 44 — is the latest venture for Keegan and Brian Donovan, farmers blending traditional agricultural values with a modern emphasis on the importance of local food and community connection.

Between production at their two farms in Verbank and Millbrook and their Millbrook retail location, the Donovans aim to offer a more transparent, higher quality alternative to the existing system of food distribution, Keegan said.

It has been common agricultural practice for products to travel large distances between the farms where they originate and the stores where they are sold. While this may make sense for specialized foods which only grow in certain climates, meat and dairy products — many of which are produced close to where they are sold — often get caught along for the ride unnecessarily, Keegan said.

“The supply chain disruptions during COVID were really the first time most people realized how complicated it was to get different types of food items from A to B,” Keegan said. Inspired to offer an alternative to the existing system, the Donovans expanded beyond their Verbank farm to additional agricultural and retail space at their location off the Shunpike.

The Donovans sell dairy products through Hudson Valley Fresh Dairy, a cooperation between 11 dairy farms in the region that share the Donovans’ goal of farming produce to be sold locally.

“The average gallon of milk travels 1,500 miles from the farm before somebody buys it,” Keegan said. “Our Hudson Valley Fresh milk comes from cows on the farm here, goes to Kingston to be bottled, and then comes back to be sold right here” — a journey of only about 60 miles.

Selling the products they produce has allowed the Donovans to learn more about the community they help to feed. “If we were just putting milk on a truck, I wouldn’t know where it was going — it could be shipped to the middle of the country to be turned into baby formula powder … who knows,” Keegan said. “This way, I feel a lot more connected to the work.”

The Donovans hope to restore the popularity of farm goods from the immediate area as an alternative to the familiar products of national brands — produce Brian referred to as “hyperlocal,” narrowing the disconnect between producer and consumer.