Fresh Food, the Old Way

In recent years, agricultural economists have noticed a slight uptick in small, organic farms delivering fresh milk. But, they say, those make up less than 1 percent of the milk market. The farms can't touch the mass-produced milk juggernaut. Americans consumed nearly 7 billion gallons of milk last year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Small farms can't keep up with that kind of demand.

"I know people have that nostalgic feel; they want to know there is a farm where their food comes from," said Kenneth W. Bailey, associate professor of agricultural economics at Pennsylvania State University. "But the reality is, it's going to be hard to find a farm with cows that still processes the milk. There are economies of scale. And everyone specializes in one market segment. The reality is, to milk, process and then ship -- it's hard to do all that stuff. Consumers want to know which farm their food came from, but they also want cheap prices."

On a recent Monday, Samantha Ahdoot walked out onto her porch just as the milkman arrived. He smiled and brought her order right into the kitchen. She took out the organic milk from the fridge and scoffed, "Carefully processed and packaged in Colorado."

She turned her attention to the milkman. She had bought two half-gallons of 2 percent milk for $3.09 each, a quarter-pound of cream cheese -- "probably too much," she said -- for $2.50, six-ounce cups of strawberry and blueberry yogurt for $1 each, a one-pound tub of butter for $5.50, chicken breasts (5.90 per pound), and feta, cheddar and sliced American cheeses ($8, $10 and $4.25 a pound, respectively).

Ahdoot eagerly poured herself a glass of milk. "Mmmm," she said. "It's very good."

What did it taste like?

"Milk."

For more information about the dairy and its products, call South Mountain Creamery at 301-371-8565 or visithttp://www.southmountaincreamery.com.