Shatto Milk Company, Osborn, Missouri

The products of Shatto Milk Company are vast. Their milk does not just come in the typical whole, 2%, 1% or skim, but includes other uniquely flavored milks such as chocolate, orange crème, strawberry, root beer and banana.

“We just want to make milk fun,” said Leroy Shatto, who even made a batch of cotton candy-flavored milk for Family Day this past year.

What started as a family-owned dairy farm located just north of Kansas City in Osborn, Missouri has grown into an award-winning small business that welcomes thousands of visitors each year.

Shatto said people occasionally are skeptical when they hear of these products, but once they try them, they realize what a treat they actually are. In addition to milk, Shatto Milk Company also produces cream, fruit punch, iced tea, butter and seasonal eggnog.

Leroy Shatto, owner of the Shatto Milk Company, decided to save his wife’s family dairy farm in 2001 when its future seemed shaky. Shatto, who married his wife Barbara in 1972, began working with her father in 1974 at the dairy farm. The Shattos knew it would be a risk to try to keep the 60-year-old dairy farm but wanted to try anyway.

“It’s about getting pride back in what you do,” said Shatto who, having won an award for tourism, now enjoys giving tours and familiarizing visitors with milking cows.

  Shatto welcomes all visitors and is surprised by how many make the trip. Shatto said they have some people who visit regularly and others who have previously purchased their product and want to see how the milk is made. He makes it a priority to talk to all visitors and thank them for their business.

Jaime and Nicole Garren from Stilwell, Kansas, brought their children, Cooper and Anna, to visit the farm after buying products from the company for a year and a half. They heard about the brand from friends who also buy from Shatto.

“We had high confidence in Shatto milk anyway, but seeing it just makes it that much better,” said Nicole Garren.

Cooper and Anna took turns milking the cows, and the family enjoyed the Saturday afternoon getaway. The family’s favorite part of the day was getting to feed and milk a cow for the first time.

Visitors have the opportunity to pet calves, milk cows, sample Shatto products and learn how the milk is bottled. As a family-oriented business, Shatto Milk Company even offers an Easter egg hunt in the spring and a family day in mid-summer.

Shatto, who likes to start his mornings with banana milk over his cereal, understands the importance of children getting enough calcium. He hopes that by making a variety of flavors, he can give kids a tasty reason to drink up.

Since Shatto Milk Company began, it has grown from milking 80 cows to milking 260 cows. Shatto’s products, which were originally only distributed to 10 stores, are now sold in more than 30 stores throughout eastern Kansas and western Missouri.

In 2007, the Shatto Milk Company was also presented with an award for Small Business Leader of the Year for Missouri and was the runner-up for Small Business Leader of the Year in the United States. 

“They flew us out to Washington, D.C. after we won it for Missouri,” said Leroy Shatto, “We even met the President.”

As the runner-up for National Small Business Leader of the Year, Shatto and his wife had the opportunity to meet personally with the President, who congratulated them and told them to keep up the great work. Now, among the other awards hanging in Shatto’s office sits a picture of President Bush in the Oval Office holding Shatto’s famous chocolate milk.

“We’re just a couple dairy farmers from Missouri,” Shatto said, “Meeting the President was a big deal.”

Shatto said he has interest in expanding, but he wants to keep the business a family-owned one. It is important to him to maintain the milk’s quality and the customer’s sense of connection with the business. Shatto said he can say with 100 percent confidence that his cows are treated properly and that their farm does not use growth hormones, unlike some corporate milk manufacturers.

“We just do it the old-fashioned way and I think that makes it taste better,” Shatto said, “People know who we are and like what we do.”

There are fewer and fewer family-owned dairy farms that bottle their own milk across the United States, and Shatto expresses concern for the company’s livelihood. Until recently, Shatto was the only milk on the shelf in glass bottles at the stores his company distributes to. Now, he worries that a bigger corporation with glass bottles is going to try to take over his own. Shatto explained that he doesn’t worry about it too much because he has high hopes his customers will remain loyal.

Currently, Shatto is working on keeping up with his online newsletter and Web site. The family maintains the Web site, and he said that it gives buyers the opportunity to read about the family farm and its history so that everyone can appreciate what their farm is trying to accomplish. Similarly, the newsletter furthers the process by keeping buyers in touch with what is happening at the farm from which they are getting their milk and maintaining the relationship between Shatto and buyers.

He said that he has been getting frequent calls from dairy farmers across the country. Shatto said he has no problem giving them advice; he hopes the best for everyone in a situation similar to his. In the future, Shatto plans to buy a new barn for the cows and new equipment so they can begin making and selling cheese products.

No matter what is in store for Shatto Milk Company’s future, Leroy Shatto is certain of one thing: “We wanted the best chocolate milk in the country and I think we’ve done just that.”

Photos by Ashley Richards