6 days ago

#107 - Joe Miller @ Kalona Supernatural - Regenerative, “Almost Raw” Milk From A 19-Entity Ecosystem

On this episode of the ReGen Brands podcast, we're joined by Joe Miller from Kalona SuperNatural — a 20-year veteran of the dairy world and a passionate advocate for organic and regenerative farming. We dig into Kalona’s unique vertically integrated ecosystem (that includes 19 different businesses!), the brand’s deep partnerships with family dairy farms, and all the ways regenerative is shaping their efforts from soil to shelf.

Joe shares the story of how a group of farmers took matters into their own hands when the local co-op abandoned the organic market — and why practices like low-temp pasteurization and non-homogenization are helping differentiate their “almost raw” dairy offerings.

We also discuss the challenging questions — how regenerative dairy can thrive and scale in a landscape dominated by consolidation, consumer confusion, and razor-thin margins. And Joe gives a heartfelt case for why organic and regenerative matters more than ever — to the land, to the farmer, and to the person drinking the milk.

Episode Highlights:

🌱 Kalona was born to save organic dairy farms that got left behind

🚚 Their Iowa-based ecosystem includes 19 different entities

📍 Buying from small family farms, many with just 35–40 cows

🌾 Leveraging Land to Market certification for agronomic improvement

🥄 “Almost Raw” milk via low-temp pasteurization & non-homogenization

📊 How regen affects their marketing efforts in-store and post-purchase

🧠 Scaling to national distribution while maintaining local and regional impact

📈 The rise, stall, and hopeful revival of organic dairy in America

🤯 648,000 to 24,000: Why 95% of U.S. dairy farms disappeared

🥛 How regenerative agriculture can help make family dairy viable again

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