Rockview Farms

Last updated
Rockview Farms
Town/CityDowney
StateCalifornia
CountryUnited States
Established1927
OwnerPeter DeGroot
ProducesDairy

Rockview Farms was established in Downey, California, in 1927 by Bob Hops. [1] In 1930, Mr. Joseph J. McCandless organized the dairy. [2] In 1938, Rockview Farms won a gold medal in the raw milk exhibit at the Los Angeles County Fair. The McCandless brothers were selling retail with the help of Joseph McCandless' wife from Ireland. [3]

Contents

A fire in 1957 destroyed a 900-foot barn at the dairy's address at 7011 Stewart and Gray Road and burned between 900 and 1000 tons of hay. Several corrals burned and total damages were estimated at $50,000. A dairy spokesman was quoted as saying the fire was "believed to have been accidentally started by children playing with matches or youths smoking and unauthorized to be on the premises." [4]

In 1959, Rockview had 250 employees and 4 drive-in dairy stores with 2 in Downey offering a complete line of dairy products. In a publication about the city, a page on Rockview was written saying, "Rockview's low prices save housewives many dollars per year" and "Mr. J. McCandless, who has high regard for America's youth has provided guided tours of Rockview's facilities. Each year, over 15,000 school children and Scout groups enjoy these trips." Rockview Farms' cattle won 175 gold medals at State and County Fairs from 1930 to 1959. [5]

Peter DeGroot, who originally supplied Rockview Farms with milk, bought the dairy in 1965 when the McCandless Brothers declared bankruptcy, and expanded the operation to 6 drive-in stores, 70 home delivery routes, and 8 wholesale routes. [6]

Processing Plant

The processing plant is located in Downey with a cold storage facility in the neighboring city of South Gate. The dairy has hired six to 10 new employees annually from targeted Enterprise Zone employment areas within the local community, earning the business tax credits now worth approximately $100,000 a year. [7] The company uses the Q5i Near Infrared In-Line Analyzer from Engineering Solutions Experts, Inc., improving quality control during the fluid milk standardization process. [8] Rockview Farms uses HTST pasteurization to ensure maximum nutrition and taste. [9] Rockview Farms processes about 800,000 to one million gallons of milk a week. [10] Expenses facing the company include the theft of plastic milk crates. Rockview Farms wrote in support of California Assembly Bill 1583 saying that it purchases nearly 450,000 milk crates annually at a cost of more than $1.7 million, yet police reports and investigations have found that milk crates and plastic pallets are stolen and sold illegally to junk dealers/recyclers who then grind the plastic containers into chips to be resold for a lesser price. [11]

Products

Rockview Farms purveys a full line of dairy and related products in a variety of sizes for the food service industry and retail trade including whole milk, organic milk, butter, buttermilk, cottage cheese, cream, half & half, sour cream, juice and yogurt. In January 2014, Rockview Farms switched organic milk label from the Good Heart label to Rockview Farms Organic Milk with Chief Operating Officer Ted Degroot citing, "greater consumer and industry awareness about our brand." [12]

Farms

Rockview Farms keeps its own dairy cows in Chino, northern California, and Nevada and processes its own milk and is delivered to the customer in 48 hours after milking. A complaint in 2008 alleging "violations of organic livestock management rules" [13] was closed without decision by the USDA saying the action was "moot" stating Rockview Farms complied with the procedural terms and entered into an inspection agreement. [14]

Distribution

Weekly volume in 2001 totaled over 500,000 gallons of fluid milk weekly. Independent contractors supplement a company fleet of 75 refrigerated trailers and 40 refrigerated straight trucks. The trailer fleet served large chain accounts and distributors in outlying areas such as Riverside and San Diego. The straight truck fleet served wholesale customers in the Los Angeles Metro area. Wholesale routes ran seven days a week and typically carried 20 stops. [15]

Rockview Farms supplied 25 drive-through dairies and 20 home delivery routes in 2003. [16] Jim Pastor had a contract with Rockview Farms that serviced 4,800 homes using 14 milkmen. He picked up 300 new residential customers in June 2010 from word-of-mouth marketing. [17] In 2004, Ted DeGroot, COO, was quoted in the Los Angeles Times over the price hike of whole milk to $2.90 per gallon, a 50% increase over 2003. "I am concerned with consumer response to this large an increase. It could hurt milk consumption." [18]

Utah-based Winder Farms shared Rockview Farms origins of delivering milk directly to customer's doorsteps and acquired Jim Pastor's home delivery routes of Rockview Farms' products for an undisclosed price. [19]

On Jan. 20, 2014, the company handed out chocolate milk cartons to students at Jeffrey Trail Middle School in Irvine, California, to celebrate National Milk Day and point to studies showing the post-recovery benefits of chocolate milk. [20]

Related Research Articles

Milk White liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals

Milk is a nutrient-rich liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest solid food. Early-lactation milk, which is called colostrum, contains antibodies that strengthen the immune system, and thus reduces the risk of many diseases. Milk contains many other nutrients, including protein and lactose.

Veal Meat of young cattle

Veal is the meat of calves, in contrast to the beef from older cattle. Veal can be produced from a calf of either sex and any breed, however most veal comes from young male calves of dairy breeds which are not used for breeding. Generally, veal is more expensive by weight than beef from older cattle. Veal production is a way to add value to dairy bull calves and to utilize whey solids, a byproduct from the manufacturing of cheese.

Flavored milk Drink

Flavored milk is a sweetened dairy drink made with milk, sugar, flavorings, and sometimes food colorings. It may be sold as a pasteurized, refrigerated product, or as an ultra-high-temperature (UHT) treated product not requiring refrigeration. It may also be made in restaurants or homes by mixing flavorings into milk.

Dairy farming Long-term production of milk

Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for long-term production of milk, which is processed for eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a history that goes back to the early Neolithic era, around the seventh millennium BC, in many regions of Europe and Africa. Before the 20th century, milking was done by hand on small farms. Beginning in the early 20th century, milking was done in large scale dairy farms with innovations including rotary parlors, the milking pipeline, and automatic milking systems that were commercially developed in the early 1990s.

Animal Outlook, formerly known as Compassion Over Killing (COK), is a nonprofit animal advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C., headed since May 2021 by Executive Director Cheryl Leahy, who succeeded Erica Meier. Formed in 1995, as a high school club, their primary campaigns are to advocate against factory farming and promote vegan eating. While the group welcomes those who are interested in animal welfare who eat meat, it encourages a transition to a plant-based diet.

Milk crate Square or rectangular interlocking boxes

Milk crates are square or rectangular interlocking boxes that are used to transport milk and other products from dairies to retail establishments.

Dean Foods American food and beverage company

Dean Foods is an American food and beverage company and the largest dairy company in the United States. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company maintains plants and distributors in the United States. Dean Foods has 66 manufacturing facilities in 32 U.S. states and distributes its products across all 50. Its 24 brands include DairyPure, TruMoo, Friendly's, Mayfield, Dean's, Meadow Gold, Tuscan, T.G.Lee and Alta Dena. In November 2019, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy citing the decline in consumption of cow's milk.

Divco Defunct American motor vehicle manufacturer

Divco was a brand name of delivery trucks built and marketed in the United States. Divco is an acronym which stands for Detroit Industrial Vehicles COmpany. Divco became known for its multi-stop delivery trucks, particularly in use as home delivery vehicles by dairy producers. From 1926 until 1986, Divco produced trucks of various sizes and job descriptions.

Horizon Organic

Horizon Organic is an American company, founded in 1991, that produces organic milk and other organic food products. Horizon Organic is the largest supplier of organic milk in North America. Its products are sold in supermarkets and grocery stores. Horizon produces organic milk in Maryland and also purchases the majority of its organic milk from more than 700 dairies in 23 states.

Winder Farms

Winder Farms is an American dairy company. It offers milk and chocolate milk and other products, to households in Utah, Las Vegas, Nevada and Orange County, California.

Agriculture in Idaho is an important part of the state's way of life and represents a substantial portion of the state's economy. 20% of Idaho's sales each year are generated by agriculture and food/beverage processing. In 2015, agricultural products were valued at $7,463,718,000, with slightly over half of that from the sale of livestock and dairy products. Cattle is the second largest agriculture sector of the state and Idaho is the third largest producer of milk and cheese in the United States. Although dairy plays a significant role in the economy, Idaho is most known for its potatoes. Idaho is the number one producer of potatoes in the nation and contributes to 32% of the country's production. Idaho has nearly 25,000 farms and ranches spread over 11.8 million acres of land that produces more than 185 different commodities. The state's production ranks in the top ten in the nation in nearly 30 of the commodities it produces.

Organic Valley

Organic Valley (OV) is an organic food brand and independent cooperative of organic farmers based in La Farge, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1988, Organic Valley is the nation’s largest farmer-owned organic cooperative and one of the world's largest organic consumer brands.

SmithFoods is a regional maker of dairy products, beverages, and ice cream headquartered in Orrville, Ohio. The company sells products under two major brands, Smith's and Ruggles, as well as private label brands, for both retail and wholesale distribution.

The 1933 Wisconsin milk strike was a series of strikes conducted by a cooperative group of Wisconsin dairy farmers in an attempt to raise the price of milk paid to producers during the Great Depression. Three main strike periods occurred in 1933, with length of time and level of violence increased during each one.

Winchester Cheese Company was an artisan cheese producer in the town of Winchester, California, in Riverside County, Southern California.

Prairie Farms Dairy American Midwestern dairy cooperative

Prairie Farms Dairy is a dairy cooperative founded in Carlinville, Illinois, and now headquartered in Edwardsville, Illinois, a suburb of St. Louis. As a dairy cooperative, Prairie Farms receives milk from producers and converts it into many different products, including cheese, butter, ice cream, sour cream, cottage cheese, various dips, yogurt, and fluid milk. Prairie Farms also produces and sells juices, flavored drinks, and pre-made iced tea.

Manulectric was a British marque of milk floats and other battery electric road vehicles. The vehicles were made by Sidney Holes Electric Vehicles, of Brighton, Sussex. They were designed out of Holes' experience of doorstep milk delivery, through Holes and Davigdor Dairies. Both pedestrian controlled vehicles (PCVs) and ride-on models were produced, and entered the market around 1947. The company was bought by Stanley Engineering in the 1960s, and sold to Crompton Electricars in 1972. Some Manulectric models were subsequently manufactured by Harbilt Electric Trucks.

Smith Brothers Farms is a dairy and home delivery service based in Kent, Washington, United States.

Dairy is a significant part of the total agricultural output of the state of Vermont. The state has 645 dairy farms milking cattle, sheep, and/or goats which produced 2.7 billion pounds of milk in 2019. Vermont ranks 15th in the United States for raw milk production.

References

  1. ↑ Hoovers.com Rockview Farms company profile (http://www.hoovers.com/company-information/cs/company-profile.Rockview_Dairies_Inc.4be864850f04a54a.html)
  2. ↑ Downey, CA, Created and Produced by Windsor Publications, 9460 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, 1959, Downey Historical Society archives
  3. ↑ (Sept. 29, 1938). "Won Gold Medal in Raw Milk Exhibit at Fair." Downey Live Wire, Downey Historical Society archives
  4. ↑
    • (April 4, 1957). "$50,000 Fire Razes Dairy Barn, Hay." Downey Live Wire, Downey Historical Society archives
  5. ↑
    • 1959. "Downey, CA." Created and Produced by Windsor Publications, 9460 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, Downey Historical Society archives
  6. ↑
  7. ↑
  8. ↑
  9. ↑ "Rockview Farms Rebrands its Goodheart Organic Milk". Groceryheadquarters.com. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  10. ↑
  11. ↑
  12. ↑
  13. ↑
  14. ↑
  15. ↑
  16. ↑
  17. ↑
  18. ↑
  19. ↑
  20. ↑
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.