Leroy Shatto was getting pretty discouraged about dairying as a way of
life. He had done it for 29 years and, by his own account, didn't have
much to show for it.
"Every day I would walk across the road (from his house to his dairy
parlor) and feel like I was losing more money," he says.
The Osborn, Mo., farmer was almost ready to sell the cows and move onto
something else when he decided to give it one more try . . . with a
twist. Shatto decided he would try to cut out the middle man and put his
own milk in glass bottles to sell.
It's been more than two years since he made that decision. So far, his
roll of the dice looks good. The public appears to relish the idea of
locally produced, farm-fresh milk in glass bottles with a family's name
on it.
Since Shatto Milk Company began marketing milk to supermarkets in the
Greater Kansas City area, Leroy has had to almost double his herd to
keep up with demand. He has a backlog of requests from stores wanting to
carry his product line, and customers from far and wide have begun
making milk-buying pilgrimages to the little retail store on Shatto's
farm.
"What's best about this is that it has instilled some pride in what I do
again," Shatto says. "People stop me and tell me they love our milk.
Before, nobody knew what I did."
Step one in Shatto's transformation from commodity producer to
entrepreneur was a feasibility and marketing study. The Missouri
Department of Agriculture provided grant money, and Shatto found two
consultants who told him that his instincts were right. They said he
could process, bottle and sell milk to a sizable niche market for
farm-to-consumer milk products.
Step two was getting a lender to share his dream. This wasn't easy, but
eventually a local bank in Lathrop, Mo., gave him a shot. A few months
after the business opened in June 2003, Shatto was back in the bank
asking for money for 80 more cows to add to the 100 he already had.
Demand was so great for Shatto milk that supply was running dry. The
banker didn't blink this time; Shatto got his cows.
The new business has meant new employees for Shatto and an economic
boost for the area. Learning to be a boss has been stressful. So are
constant concerns about quality control.
Shatto also is bothered by the size issue. How big does he want the
operation to grow, and in what directions? Would products like ice cream
and yogurt be more profitable?
A world of possibilities beckons. In the meantime, Leroy Shatto is still
in the dairy business, and loves it.