-David Robb, manager of business development at Trader’s Point Creamery, unloads freshly bottled milk from the conveyor belt. The next stop for the bottles is the walk-in refrigerator.-

The dairy has six milking stations and the floor is spotless, the stainless steel stalls glimmer, faintly, in the light coming through the skylights. The cows come in, are attached to the suction machines and quietly chew their cud while they are milked.

The process is similar to most dairy operations, only this one is smaller and not so interested in “the race to the bottom line.” Instead, owners Peter and Jane Kunz want to create a special product that not only tastes good, but is unique and healthy.

Swaddled by development, Trader’s Point Creamery is an icon of yesteryear farms. The milk and yogurt that this privately-owned dairy farm produces could easily qualify as gourmet. They also meet a growing consumer trend: food consciousness.

The future of the 112-acre farm Jane Kunz inherited was uncertain until five years ago, when she decided to keep it running. She and her husband, Peter, toured organic dairies in other states and decided to make an investment. Eight months ago, they took their first bottles of milk to the market. “It’s been incredibly well-received,” Jane said.

The success of large-scale organic food stores like Wild Oats demonstrates the growing number of consumers concerned about where food comes from and how it is produced. Mass production and bottom-line pricing, many believe, have led to a decrease in quality. “People are beginning to question what is going on in these larger processing facilities,” said Fons Smits, the dairy processing manager at Trader’s Point.

Smits originates from Holland, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in dairy science. He has traveled around the world, managing dairies. In addition to a concern about where their food is coming from, Smits attributes a longing to return to farm life as another reason people come to Trader’s Point. Activities at the dairy are done, partly, in hope of reuniting Hoosiers with their farming heritage — customers can visit and see the entire process from cow to bottle.

Small dairy farms have been on the decline in Indiana ever since the price of milk began its descent to $12 per 100 pounds. The competition among mainstream dairy producers has moved west to New Mexico, Idaho and California. Competing farms typically have 1,500-plus cattle. Trader’s Point has 45. “Every farmer is more than willing to have less cows on the land,” Smits said. Farmers have been forced into “factory” conditions because the price of milk is so low, he said. Trader’s Point customers are willing to pay more ($2.25 a quart for whole milk) because it’s a choice about quality and nutrition, not money.

Large-scale, conventional dairy farms are focused on increasing output. They give cows antibiotics to boost their immune systems and inject them with a growth hormone to increase production. Many believe that these “additives” are a health risk to both cow and consumer. “Nature doesn’t use antibiotics, penicillin or anything like that,” said Neil McDonald, the Trader’s Point farm manager.

The opportunity to oversee an organic dairy operation is what brought the native New Zealander to Indiana. Getting back to the way milk is produced in nature is his goal. Cows are ruminants — they have multi-chambered stomachs for digesting grasses — but the majority of American dairy cows are fed grain. Less pasture is needed and milk production is nearly doubled by doing so, but the life span of the cow is reduced and the milk is deficient of many vitamins, minerals and essential fats.

A recent study by the Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research, a U.K. institute, reported that organic milk produced by grass-fed cows contained two-thirds more omega-3 fatty acids than regular milk. Omega-3’s are good for the heart, promote good growth, help fight arthritis and contribute to healthy brain development in unborn children.

Milk from grass-fed cows is also high in Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA), another essential fat. CLA has been shown to reduce cancerous tumors in laboratory rats, and it’s also believed to reduce the risk of mental illness, obesity and diabetes. CLA is also thought to help boost the human immune system. Trader’s Point milk is also high in Vitamins A and E, and it contains beta-carotene. The milk is pasteurized but not homogenized. Non-homogenized milk is said to help lower bad cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease.

The Trader’s Point cows were purchased from breeders in Montana and Wisconsin. They were raised organically, meaning they were grass-fed and treated with only herbal remedies. Trader’s Point farm manager McDonald said that the first few years are the most challenging, until the cow’s immune systems have adapted. “You have to develop your observational powers and patience,” McDonald said.

The cows feed on certain types of grasses at certain times of the year, searching for beneficial nutrients and minerals. Antibiotic use and conventional methods lean more towards farmers controlling the cows. “If you let the cow teach you,” McDonald said, “you can learn everything you need.” A rotational grazing method is used to keep them eating fresh grass through the season. They are given a 2-acre plot every day and rotated through on a 30-day cycle. In the winter, the cows are fed organically-grown hay.

Once the cows have done their job, the milk is pumped into the creamery, where it falls under the handling of Smits, the dairy processing manager. A slight aroma of milk permeates the processing room. Stainless steel tubes snake their way around, connecting vats of milk to the pasteurizer and the bottling machine. “I like the smaller-scale, the medium-scale,” Smits said, “because they’re more hands-on, and it becomes more personal when you make the product.”

Trader’s Point is a medium-scale operation, and the owners have given Smits creative freedom. His emphasis is on quality. “What we really want to do is to keep this as natural and simple as possible,” he said. The on-farm store is just outside the processing room, so customers also give Smits immediate feedback. People appreciate the quality ingredients, he said.

The products at Trader’s Point are more expensive, but customers are willing to pay for a fresh, all-natural product. Trader’s Point also makes chocolate milk and yogurt in a variety of flavors, from peach to banana-mango. In May, they will have ice cream and, by August, their first cheese. “Cheese is a product in which you can really taste the quality of the milk,” Smits said. No two places in the world can produce the exact same cheese, he said. It’s unique to a region. They will start with softer cheeses, like cottage cheese, before making aged cheeses.

Jane Kunz hopes more people will visit the farm and try their products to see if they can tell a difference. Having been in business for less than a year, she said they are not yet an economic model for others who want to start organic dairy farms. The creamery is still on the way to proving itself financially. “We still have a way to go,” she said, “but we’re optimistic that our community can support this.”