VIP Profile: Carl & Debra Chaney
In 1888, the Chaney family purchased the land off what is now Nashville Road and established a dairy farm to help generate money for the family. Nearly 100 years later, after knowing each other while growing up and briefly dating, Debra and Carl Chaney married in 1976. While the young couple knew they would farm together on the family farm, neither could have predicted that what started as a normal dairy operation would grow into an iconic stop in Bowling Green where families would venture from near and far to spend time together, enjoy some ice cream and learn about the agricultural process that helps food go from the farm to their dinner table.
“My dad, James Riley Chaney, started the jersey cows back in the 1940s and we’ve milked jerseys ever since,” Carl says. “They are just a great cow, and we love their beauty and their quality of milk they produce. They have really become the pride of our family.”
Debra’s grandparents also had a dairy farm, where she spent lots of time growing up just a mile down the road. She knew a bit about what it would take to operate the farm from watching her grandparents and tried to lean into what she learned in childhood.
“My grandparents never embellished it, but the farm was always fun, lighthearted and something that everyone was involved in,” Debra says. “We loved being around the farm and we were always picking thistles or working in the garden or painting furniture. My grandmother kept us busy doing things to make the place better and I’ve been able to carry a lot of her traditions on here.”
Not long after Carl and Debra took over the farm, they had to make some big business decisions to determine the profitability and future of the farm.
“Carl and I were looking at reinvesting in the farm or losing it,” Debra says. “We chose to invest in a 40-year loan on the 60 acres we had left on the farm. We were hearing a lot about diversifying what you could do with your farm, and we were talking to people who had a vision for the different products that would add value.”
The Chaney’s decided to take a road trip to visit with different people across the United States to see what they were doing to help their farms grow and stay relevant. They visited a family in Massachusetts who used a processor for their milk and then they would sell the milk. They then were pointed to a family that was making their own ice cream.
“The last place we visited was Youngs Jersey Dairy in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and we felt a connection immediately,” Carl says. “They were so open with us to share all the possibilities of what you could do and how they got to where they were. They really gave us the vision of having the cows at the barn and then people could come and eat the ice cream and really have a wonderful experience. So, we thought, ‘well, let’s start and see where it leads us’ and so that’s what we did.”
By 2003, the Chaney’s had a vision and a builder and seven acres at the front of their property that was rezoned for commercial use. Carl headed to ice cream school for ten days at Penn State where he could learn everything there was to know about making and selling ice cream.
“We knew we needed some credibility, and I couldn’t walk in and say ‘hey, I’m a dairy farmer and we are going to sell ice cream,’” Carl says. “I got to be with people from Ben & Jerry’s and all the top producers and I made great friends in the professors who continued to talk to me and support our plan.”
The doors opened at Chaney’s Dairy Barn in the fall of 2003, just as the Michael O. Buchanon Park was opening across Nashville Road. The Chaney’s were able to ease into the business through the fall and winter and prepare for their first summer in 2004.
“We had some of our best friends wondering if we had lost our minds,” Debra says. “They didn’t see what we saw, but now those same people are some of our biggest supporters. All these years later, we are proud to say we have become a tourism destination, and we have met a lot of families that meet here from all over and they are able to have fun and enjoy a day here together on the farm.”
While fun and great food is at the cornerstone of the Chaney’s Dairy Barn, another big focus for the farm is educating people on the importance of agriculture. From the very beginning of the business, Carl would lead farm tours on a tractor and wagon for children and adults that showed the process of milking the cows. In 2016, after milking and care for the cows continued to get harder through the winters, the Chaney’s opened the automated milking area on the farm that led to more efficient care for the cows, along with the ability to have self-guided tours for guests.
The Chaney’s four children, Jessica, James, Elizabeth and Brittany have been an active part of the business at different points and their daughter, Jessica, was instrumental in the push for the new facility, while Elizabeth was starting to explore the possibility of processing Chaney’s milk at the farm, which eventually began to take place in 2018. While the transition to the new system was difficult at first, the farm is thriving now because of the advancements.
“When we first moved the cows to the new building, it was a huge transition,” Carl says. “For more than a month, we had cots in the feed area, and we slept with the cows to make sure they were comfortable with the new system.”
While the Chaney’s will admit they have had hiccups along the way with the new milking system and with the milk processing, currently, they average processing around 25,000 pounds of milk each week and during peak times of ice cream, they make around 750 gallons of ice cream each week.
Another addition to business finished up just last year, when the Chaney’s doubled their space to 20,000 square feet with an addition to their restaurant and ice cream area.
“About three years ago, we started to feel the encroachment, not just of the building going on around us, but also of the people inside of our building and we knew there just wasn’t enough space,” Debra says. “People were still happy to come, even if there was standing room only, but it made us uncomfortable that they were uncomfortable. Again, Jessica helped us to ask the right questions, and we came up with a plan to double the space. With the help from our business development manager, Christian Lucas, we were able to complete the project and make a space that can hold even more people this coming summer.”
Even with the growth of their business and farm and their place as a staple in the area for family fun, the Chaney’s are most proud of the family they have grown right along with their business. Debra says. “The older we get, we may have things happen, but Carl is such a good partner. All our children are such good, Christian people who give to their community, work hard, and provide for their families. And our grandchildren are just the most wonderful people. I will put aside pretty much anything to set up a date with the grandchildren and do what they want to do. They love to come to the farm, and some have already started to be involved at the farm.”
The Chaney’s also say that their employees are an extension of their own family, and they are key to the future of Chaney’s Dairy Barn. During peak times of the year, there are 70 part-time students and year-round there are eight full time employees. While they look to the future of the dairy barn and what comes next both professionally and personally for the Chaney’s, they are thankful for the people they have in place to take Chaney’s into the future to fulfill their mission of family fun, quality food and agricultural education.
“When people come here, I want them to get a full experience,” Debra says. “I want them to have some idea of the hard work that goes into creating what they are seeing. I want them to see the beauty of the farmland, because so much of it is being eaten up by urban sprawl, and I want them to be curious about where their food comes from. I also want them to be treated well, and our employees do a great job of not only showing kindness to their fellow employees but to everyone that walks through the door.”
