By Kalena Reynolds | Staff Writer
Fifteen minutes outside of Waco, on a back road in McGregor, resides a small local dairy called Mill-King Market and Creamery. Aside from distributing milk and various other dairy products, the dairy also has a storefront on the farm that carries an array of other small business products and organic food.
Mill-King founder and owner Craig Miller said that while he is a third-generation dairyman, he never expected to open a dairy of his own. That is, until 2010 — when the market collapsed, severely impacting the dairy industry and as a result, Miller’s father’s dairy business.
Miller and his wife had also decided to adopt. To do so, Miller needed to shift to a job that required less traveling.
A large part of Miller’s mission when creating the business was to sell raw milk and raw cheese. THis wife Rhianna had been lactose intolerant her entire life until she tried raw milk.
“My wife married me, a dairyman, and she thought she was lactose intolerant until a friend of hers urged her to try raw milk,” Miller said. “For the first time in her life, she could drink milk, so obviously, this is life-changing for her because she had severe reactions, like migraines, to store-bought milk, like if she ate a piece of cheese off of a hamburger at a fast food restaurant, and now she can eat stuff.”
Raw dairy is a large part of Mill-King’s mission. While there are many misconceptions surrounding the product, Miller said that not only are the health benefits unbeatable, but also incredibly regulated. The dairy goes through monthly testing to ensure it is safe to consume, Miller said.
“It is very regulated by the state and the FDA,” Miller said. “So we get tested for our raw milk literally every month, and they come through and make sure that everything is up to code, and that is way more than any restaurant or any of that kind of stuff will ever see.”
Miller’s raw milk business has made its presence known around Texas due to high demand. In the beginning, production was done by hand, Miller said.
“We were literally filling one little bottle at a time with a little hand nozzle and we were selling it there,” Miller said. “We had a little store in the garage at our house, which is there on the dairy and it was on the honor system for 10 years until COVID hit.”
Miller’s storefront even left out bills in a box for people to make their own change for 10 years. While they consistently kept inventory, they found that there were ever only two incidents of theft.
Post COVID-19, Miller found that due to an extreme increase in demand, he would have to shift his business model and create a storefront that has developed into a market full of natural, holistic and organic food, beverage and skincare products.
“That’s why we started Mill-King, and kind of how we got to this place,” Miller said. “I can tell you that our business is doing great and it’s growing and it’s healthy, and I can tell you that it really wasn’t my doing. I don’t have enough time, but the good Lord gave us everything we have.”
Farm store manager Heather Brown said that it’s incredibly unique to find a local store such as “Mill-King” that provides both organic and small business owner companies.
“There are very few places like this one, like we do, the organic and the locally sourced, but there are a few stores like this in Texas,” Brown said. “I haven’t gotten to go to any of them, but it is cool. And I do wish the same. I wish people would realize that they need to go back to local farmers. Know your food; know where it comes from.”
Brown also said that because Mill-King is a small business, workers are also able to take better care of their livestock.
“All of the meat that we carry is humanely raised, and that’s such an important part of the food because these animals were treated very well during their life,” Brown said. “So a lot of people don’t think about that part when they go grocery shopping.”
Mill-King Market is located at 4483 Orion Rd, McGregor, TX 76657.
