Hornstra Farms family business – now in its second century – continues to prosper

October 26, 2019 by Carol Britton Meyer

This is the second in our series about prospering Hingham-based family businesses.

When John B. Hornstra took over the then-Hingham-based family business from his father, John J.,  in 1985 -- the fulfillment of a long-held dream -- Hornstra Farms had been in operation for 70 years. The business, which is one of the last working dairy farms on the South Shore, is thriving today in its second century.

Looking back, in 1912 Anske and Agnes Hornstra and their six children boarded a ship in Holland and journeyed to American in search of a better life. The family bought their first dairy farm in Hingham in 1915, and the rich Hornstra Farms tradition has continued ever since.

"There were about 150 customers and a broken-down milk truck with no refrigeration when I started running the business," Hornstra recalls. The cows had been auctioned off in 1969 to Michelson's Farm on High Street, so Hornstra Farms bought milk from a small Shrewsbury farm until the early 1990s. At that time his cousin's husband, Howard Hatch, and Hornstra joined forces and built a creamery at the Hatch dairy farm in North Haverhill, New Hampshire, 175 miles away.

"For 20 years we hauled milk down to Hingham," Hornstra said.

"Most of the milk was in paper cartons in those days while now quarts and half-gallons of milk are delivered in glass bottles that can be washed and refilled over and over again," he said.

Focus on protecting environment

"Right now there's a big movement to get away from plastic containers, because only about 10 percent gets recycled. Our goal is to eventually do away with our gallon plastic jugs."

Hornstra Farms is promoting the use of glass as much as possible for the benefit of the environment. "Imagine the waste, say, if a family drinks two gallons of milk a week -- that's 104 plastic jugs a year," Hornstra noted.

In 2009 Hornstra's family purchased the 80-acre non-operational Loring Farm in Norwell with the intention of running a dairy farm, moving operations from its landmark location -- across from the entrance to Wompatuck State Park -- with its big red barn. It took five years to build the bottling plant and to restore the buildings before the milk could be processed in Norwell, but it was worth the wait.

"We make our own milk [including chocolate], ice cream, and butter, which are among customer favorites," he said. "We love hearing people say  no one else makes ice cream like ours!"

Hornstra Farms now delivers to 3,500 families in Hingham and other South Shore communities and further south to Kingston and through Plympton and the Bridgewaters.

That's a huge leap from the early days when there were fewer than 200 customers and deliveries were made mainly to Hingham and a few neighboring towns -- Cohasset, Hull, and Weymouth.

Home deliveries and more

Hornstra Farms, located at 246 Prospect St., Norwell, not only continues to make home deliveries in Hingham and many surrounding communities in refrigerated trucks but it also offers a farm store, a seasonal dairy bar, field trips, and group tours that allow the Hornstras to share their love of farming and a piece of their agricultural heritage.

Products range from dairy (milk, buttermilk, cheese, whipped cream, eggs, ice cream -- from seasonal pumpkin to "Pasture Patty" made with cookie dough, fudge swirl, and chocolate chips -- and others), bakery items (bread, apple, blueberry, and pumpkin pie, to name a few) of all kinds, fresh-squeezed orange juice, and drip ground coffee to bacon and ham steaks, many varieties of dinners-on-the run (macaroni and cheese, chicken parmesan, shepherd's pies, pasta dishes, bourbon marinated turkey ad steak tips, and more), and seasonal apple cider and eggnog.

A highlight of Hornstra's career so far harks back to a Christmas in the Square celebration quite a few years ago. "We were offering samples of our eggnog, and I overheard a woman say to a friend, 'Have you tasted Hornstra Farms eggnog before?' The response was, 'I don't even need to taste it to know it's the best [because it comes from Hornstra Farms]."

The Hornstras are continuously looking for ways to  expand their high-quality frozen food offerings for added convenience. "It's nice to be able to offer our customers items they can't get in a grocery store," Hornstra said.

Hornstra Farms is truly a family business.  His son, John J. -- named after his grandfather -- a fifth-generation Hornstra -- is in his second year working at the farm.  He enjoys the work so much that he once commented to his father, "If you find a job you love you will never work a day in your life."

Life on the farm

A day on the farm begins at 5 a.m. when the herd of 60 Red and White Holsteins are milked (by machine), with another milking at 5 p.m.

The cows graze and exercise in the pasture every day that the weather permits. "Proper nutrition results in optimum-quality milk and a healthy herd," the Hornstra Farm website states. "No artificial hormones here!" Hornstra notes there's a trend toward families buying more whole milk.

The barn is equipped with a powerful tunnel ventilation system to keep the cows comfortable even in the hottest weather. In their stalls they enjoy the comfort of special mats that cushion the cement floor and make it feel more like the outdoors.

Hornstra's sister, Alison, and his wife, Lauren, both work at the farm. Alison works in the office and Lauren is the accountant.

Their three daughters -- Courtney, Abigail, and Lily -- scoop ice cream at the dairy bar and also on the Hornstra Farms ice cream truck.

"It's absolutely the best experience ever working with your children, wife, and sister -- it's terrific," Hornstra said. "This was my dream -- to have a farm where we could offer field trips and educate kids about dairy farms."

The biggest challenge, he said good-naturedly -- "is that when you work with family members, the conversation around the dinner table tends to revolve around work."

Alison recalls joining the family business when she returned to Hingham around 2001 after living out-of-town for some time. She stepped in to fill a need for afternoon office help "and it morphed into a full-time job," she recalls.

One of the best parts about working in the Hornstra family business, Alison said, is that their employees (close to 50 during the busier summer months when the dairy bar is open) are "like family. We all share our ups and downs, and it's nice to have the support, understanding, and compassion of your family. When our employees or we are going through challenges, we go through them with each other."

The close relationship the Hornstras have with their employees makes Hornstra Farms different from some other businesses, she said. "We know what colleges the young people working here are applying to, attending, or transferring to, and we get to see their prom dresses!"

There's nothing like getting fresh milk and other dairy products, bakery, and a wide variety of other items delivered directly to your door. If you're on an early delivery schedule and you're up in time, you'll see the familiar signature blue and yellow trucks bearing the Hornstra Farms logo pulling up at your house. Some customers enjoy greeting the friendly drivers, and their smiles are returned.

Stopping by the farm in person is an experience in itself. The often-full parking lot -- especially during the summer when everyone wants an ice cream to cool down -- is also a testimony to the continuing success of this family business.

With the arrival of fall, the farm store is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.  The seasonal dairy bar is closed until April.

Sharing memories

One of Hornstra's most vivid memories is delivering milk with his father during the Blizzard of '78. "That was a challenging time," he recalled. "My dad was trying to make sure his customers had milk, so we walked a lot of unplowed streets making deliveries with snow up to our knees! We even had to put chains on the truck's tires."

He also remembers his father predicting a big storm at the beginning of the soon-to-become blizzard as they drove up the hill from the railroad bridge in Weymouth heading toward Legion Field during white-out conditions. "The flakes of snow were small and fine, which he said meant it would be a long storm," Hornstra said. "By the time we went over New Bridge Street in Hingham to make deliveries on Fresh River Avenue there was already a foot of snow."

What's the secret to Hornstra Farms' success? "We never, ever compromise on quality, which is our number one priority, " Hornstra said. "If our name is on it, it has to be something we're proud of."

For more information visit hornstrafarms.com. New customers are welcome!