The Kuehnert Milk House in Fort Wayne Brings Locally Made Dairy Products and Agritourism to Northeast Indiana
If you live in northeastern Indiana—or you plan to visit soon—you’ll want to check out the Kuehnert Milk House near Fort Wayne.
“Being able to take our milk from our cows that we make and be able to the run that milk over to our processing facility has always been a dream of all of ours, and we’ve worked on it for many, many years,” says Andrew Kuehnert, a fifth generation Indiana Dairy farmer and manager of the Kuehnert Milk House, which is off of U.S. 33 on Cook Road northwest of Fort Wayne.
That dream became a reality in February 2024 when the Kuehnert family opened their retail shop to the public.
“People come in and tell us, ‘Hey, my kids love drinking milk now because you guys make milk,” he tells Hoosier Ag Today.
You can buy fresh milk, butter, and cheese curds. Their cheese curd manufacturing facility was made possible, in part, through a $100,000 grant that Kuehnert Dairy received from the Dairy Business Innovation Alliance (DBIA) in 2023.
Plus, the folks at the Udder Upp Cafe will whip up something to satisfy your sweet tooth! Their milkshakes and ice cream are all made from their 300 cows on their nearby farm.
“We make milk from our happy cows and then we take that, and we put it in the glass bottles and we put it in different flavors and then it’s directly from us to the person that buys the milk.”
Andrew and his family wanted to expand the business and bring back a bit of nostalgia! That’s why they brought back the ‘Milkman’. You can now set up home delivery options of Kuehnert Milk House products to your home.
Andrew says they have nine different milk flavors to choose from—including banana, cotton candy, and orange cream! He says even more flavors on the way.
“This summer, I’m really trying to get a blueberry milk coming out, so we’re in the development of that, and then hopefully, as the years go, we keep bringing out some new flavors.”
Andrew adds that they’re looking to expand their product line even further!
“I really want to [start making] some good Parmesans and some others kind of cheeses that are more like a pressed cheese or a conventional cheese,” he says.
The Kuehnert Milk House is also part of the family’s plan to use agritourism to show others how dairy farms operate—and show how their favorite dairy products are made.
“We open our farm in the fall during our Kuehnert Dairy Fall Festival and invited the public to come out see what we do on a daily basis,” he says. “It’s always been very important for everybody in our family to tell our side of the story and show people what dairy farmers do each and every day for 365 days a year. That’s been a great opportunity for agritourism to show people what we do. We feel like we have built respect and trust with our local community by just being honest and showing what we do each and every day.”
Even though Andrew’s father, Al Kuehnert, passed away in 2021, he says his dad’s memory will continue to live on through as the family farm continues to grow.
“We know he’s always up watching over us and taking care of us, so we know we’re trying to live on his legacy.”
CLICK HERE to learn more about the new Kuehnert Milk House in Fort Wayne.
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