Kalona creamery crowdfunds its way to new organic pasture

A Kalona business has exceeded its fundraising goal for a new organic pasture.

Farmers Creamery on Tuesday announced that its Fencing Fields Kickstarter campaign raised $20,128. A total of 190 backers pledged the money in 30 days, topping the original goal of $20,000.

The money raised will be used to install fencing at Marilyn Farms in Kalona. The pasture will be used for a custom grazing program in the community.

The grazing program will allow local Amish and Mennonite dairy farmers to increase the size of their herds by providing access to the pasture at Marilyn Farms. As the local farmers increase the size of their milking herds, the availability of local organic milk also will expand.

Sara Rissi, marketing manager at Kalona Organics, said the increased availability of local organic milk will enable Farmers Creamery to meet consumer demand by producing more Kalona SuperNatural products.

'We are excited to start installing the fencing and will keep our backers and followers up to date with the progress we make over the next several months,” Rissi said in a news release.

Kalona SuperNatural milk, which comes from grass-fed cows on small, Amish or Mennonite family farms where the average daily herd is 35 cows, is not homogenized. It does not contain any added hormones.