Etowah Maid Dairies

Cagle's Dairy Farm operates the oldest continuously operating processing plant in the state of Georgia -- Etowah Maid Dairies Cagle's Dairy started purchasing stock in Etowah Maid Dairies in 1959, and by 1972 the family purchased all of the stock in the company.

In 1972, Cagle's Dairy became a producer-processor and moved the processing plant from Canton to the family farm in Hickory Flat, Georgia.

Today Cagle's Dairy is the oldest producer-processor left in the state of Georgia! A producer-processor is a dairy farm that has its own processing plant.

Cagle's Dairy milk never leaves the farm until it is ready for the consumer to buy. Etowah Maid Dairies also made history in 1961 when they marketed the first milk in plastic jugs in the United States.

Farming a New Frontier

As the local community grew and became a part of the Atlanta metropolitan area a decision had to be made.

The Cagle family was growing as sons married and had families of their own. The cost of property limited the ability to increase the farm size to meet the growing needs of the larger family.

The family had been a part of this community for many years. They did not want to leave the community or farm that they loved and had been a part of so long.

So, they turned to a new frontier.

Pioneering Agri-Tourism

The decision was made to continue to operate a real working dairy farm and milk processing plant and at the same time provide educational farm tours for metro children.

When the decision was made to do this the family thought it was important for somebody to teach children about agriculture.

There are very few places that the public can go to learn about agriculture.

As the Cagles say, "Our #1 goal is that children have fun and learn something about farming at the same time. Every urban child should learn that their food, including milk, is produced on a farm and not just a product of the local grocery store."

Cagles Come to Hickory Flat

In 1936, Albert Cagle, age one, arrived in the Hickory Flat community with his family. The family bought their farm from Estelle Doss Cagle’s cousin, Jim and Ella Mae Watkins, who had operated what was considered a modern dairy between 1923 and 1935. (It sold only raw milk. There was no pasteurized milk in those days!) Farmer Clayton Cagle raised cotton, did his own blacksmithing, and combined crops for other farmers.

The Cagle’s had what was considered a self-sustaining farm. Almost all of the family food came from the farm. The family garden supplied seasonal vegetables, and the family preserved the surplus for the winter ahead.

The flock of hens ranged from 50 to 100 to supply eggs and chicken dinners for the family. All surplus eggs brought extra money for the goodies of life such as, salt, sugar, canning jars and other staples from the country store. The poultry business on the farm grew when the family had electricity and no longer had to draw water to supply thirsty chickens.

Butter Turns to 'Gold'

The family always had two or three cows -- one or two dry (with calf) and the other for milking and supplying the family with milk. From time to time the cow gave too much milk for the family to consume. Being a thrifty farmer’s wife, Mama (Estelle Cagle) soon found a market for the butter that she could produce from the extra milk. Leftover buttermilk from the churning helped raise two hogs for meat and lard for cooking. As little Albert and his siblings grew, so did the herd of cows.

The local stores were always in need of more butter. 'Butter money' helped purchased the store items that the family wanted and needed which could not be produce on the farm. Churning was a lot of work and the milk supply kept growing. The three older children helped with the wrapping and labeling of the butter. Albert and his older brother, Charles, guided by their parents, saw an opportunity to sell milk to Lands Dairy in the community, who needed more milk for marketing. Pasteurization was now part of the dairy industry. So the story goes, from marketing butter to selling fresh milk, the family found themselves milking a herd of cows and in the dairy business.

Stir in a Few Chickens

Daddy Clayton now had a poultry feed trucking business on the side, and the farm got a few poultry houses. As it turns out, Cherokee County was destined to be the 'Poultry Capitol of the World'. Clayton Cagle left the farm in the hands of his wife and older children during the day (to attend to the trucking business) and helped with the farm when he arrived back on the farm evenings and weekends. He helped milk the cows before mornings and evenings. The herd grew to 40 cows.

And the Dairy is Born

Albert and his brother, Charles were now finishing school and thinking of growing the business, calling it the Cagle Brother’s Dairy. The first milking barn was built in 1952 and electric milking machines followed soon. And the dairy grew again. Albert married Bernese Haynes in 1958. Their family, boys Scott, Mark, Len, and David grew up at Cagle's Dairy Farm.

The family dairy was to operate in a flat barn until 1969. Sixty to seventy-five cows became the normal herd size, proving the flat barn not efficient and too labor intensive. Charles decided to leave the farm. Albert bought the joining farm and looked to the future in dairy farming.

Albert and Bernese have retired from active farming (ok, well sorta!) and live across the road from the Dairy in an historic farm house.