Donating the gift of dairy

Dave Smith of Smith Bros. Meats received an unusual phone call last week Friday. On the other line was Matt Oehmichen from Short Lane Ag Supply, asking Smith if he had space to hold 400 bottles of chocolate and whole milk.

“I was more than willing to accept the milk since it was already in bottles and was ready to throw into people’s bags,” Smith said. “

Short Lane Ag Supply of rural Colby purchased the 400 bottles of chocolate and whole milk from Nasonville Dairy last week and donated them to Smith Bros. Meats so each customer ordering a Friday fish fry would get two free bottles of milk with their meal.

“It was really nice to hear that somebody is just out there, looking out for our community and a big part of our business around this area,” Smith said.

Matt Oehmichen, agronomist at Short Lane, said the goal is to make sure milk is making it to consumers instead of being wasted due to major market disruptions caused by the COVID-19 crisis.

“I know it’s a small gesture, but we want to show people there are measures we can take to stop milk from getting dumped in our area,” he said.

“Instead of getting dumped, it’s getting into people’s hands,” he said.

Mike Solberg delivered the milk, and later that day, Smith Bros. Meats gave bottles to those customers who purchased a carry-out fish fry dinner.

All told, Smith Bros. served over 300 people — and the gift of milk did not go unnoticed.

“We did get quite a few compliments on the free milk. That was very nice to have,” Smith said. “Obviously, dairy is really important in our area and throughout our state, so it’s very important to get that milk used up so farmers can benefit from that.”

Smith also wanted to let people know that a struggling dairy farmer affects more than just one town or one state — it has a massive ripple effect on the entire country’s livelihood and well-being.

“I think we just need to keep supporting our dairy farmers by drinking more milk and doing anything we can help,” Smith said, referring to dairy farmers and their recent woes.

“One business feeds into another,” Smith said. “A lot of our economy and, the country’s economy, depends on how well farmers do.”