Our Beginnings...

Isle Farms is owned and operated by Rod and Mary Fries. We are a small (large) family operation, serving Colorado Springs and surrounding areas since 2005.

Rod grew up in a small farming community in Oklahoma, where his Dad proudly served John Deere Co. for over 20 years.

Mary grew up in Denver/Aurora, always with the longing for the farm life.

Isle Farms came together after years of planning, and finally building and moving East of Colorado Springs.  Our original intention was to provide milk for ourselves and our children, after much research on food and nutrition. What happened was a surprise to us (at the time, anyway).

People started coming.

And...coming.

We realized that there was a great need and want for milk that was clean, nutritious, and...well, not pasteurized or homogenized. From animals that were treated humanly, with lots of room and love.

It was in that same time period that the Cow Share program was legalized by the Colorado legislation, and a community of small farmers were coming together to form RMAC-the Raw Milk Association of Colorado. We eagerly joined, wanting to become part of not only the community and networking that took place, but to help serve other farmers wishing to serve the community as well.

And here we are.

We have grown by leaps and bounds, and have met the most wonderful people imaginable-our shareholders. Such an incredible group of people-dedicated to getting milk each week from our farm, driving co-ops, working and networking with each other...we are so blessed!

As for the cows...we cannot say enough. Just having them around has enriched our lives so greatly. Each one has a unique personality and way about them. It has been our privilege to have them.

 We wish everyone could have one in their own back yard :0) Since that isn't possible, you just need to come visit them.

I can say with certainty...we really DO love these cows.

A Brief explanation of our farm name...

To explain our name, a brief summary of the history of the Jersey cow will be helpful.

Jerseys originated from the Isle of Jersey, located between England and France. They were first brought to the Americas in the late 1800's.

In the mid 1950's, commercial dairies realized the potential increase in sales that could be had by the cows being pushed to produce more milk. Through feed and altering genetics, comes to us the modern day Jersey. There are many physical differences between the old Jersey and today's, including an enlarged pituitary gland (which increases the amount of milk produced). The conformation of today's Jersey was established , among other things, so that the jersey could endure long hours on concrete (completely un-natural setting). We think of them as the high-tech cow, that was altered for production. Today's Jerseys usually last only a few years in production. The old Jersey will milk for 15 years easy...

Through this time, a handful of  farmers decided to keep with the original lines, genetics, and physical traits that the original Jersey held.

We have been honored to purchase these wonderful Isle Jersey cows (thus our name, Isle Farms). They are not designed for high production...but then again, mother nature didn't make them that way.

One HUGE advantage to owning the old lines, taken from "Raw Milk-Nature's Nutrient-Rich Food"-

"Today, most milk cows have been bred to produce three times as much milk as the old-fashioned cow. The more milk a cow produces, the more dilute its vitamin content."

Hmmmm....I think we'll keep with the old lines, thanks.

Hoping you were able to get at least a glimpse of the farm...