Penn State Ice-Cream Grad Is 'King of Cones' in Ky.

Sue Bowman
Southeastern Pa. Correspondent

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Folks headed to Bowling Green, Kentucky, are most often going there to take in sights like the National Corvette Museum and nearby Mammoth Cave National Park. However, odds are good that while they’re in town, they’ll also end up tasting some Chaney’s ice cream. While Chaney’s Dairy Barn has become a local landmark, in many ways it owes its existence to a landmark located several states away — Penn State University and its internationally famous Ice Cream Short Course.

Chaney’s dairy farm got its start back in 1940 when James Chaney and his late wife Evelyn started milking a small herd of Jerseys in a rural area southwest of Bowling Green. Fast forward nearly 70 years and a herd of Jerseys is still on that same farm, but now the next generation of Chaneys — Carl and his wife Debra — are the owners, though James still assists with the milking when his health permits. The younger Chaneys have branched out from milk production into a variety of farm-related ventures, including their own highly successful ice cream manufacturing and sales operation.

Back in 2001, Carl and his wife had grown tired of the traditional dairy “rat race” and sold their herd via an Internet sale, keeping just 100 head of cows.

They wanted to retain a dairy operation, so they set about doing some research, which eventually led them to the idea of producing ice cream on their farm. Through further research and word of mouth, they learned about the Penn State program and heard “it was really the only place to go” to learn about ice-cream making. Besides the large size of the program, PSU’s ice cream short course has the distinction of being the oldest course of it’s kind dedicated to the science and technology of ice-cream making.

Carl attended the class in January 2003 and he still clearly remembers leaving Bowling Green in 40 degree temperatures and driving to State College, Pa., where he was greeted by 12 inches of snow and a thermometer that read 18 degrees. He was particularly impressed with course director Dr. Robin Roberts.

Soon Carl was putting his new knowledge to use creating an on-the-farm ice cream operation that has grown steadily by about seven percent per year.

Although business was flat in 2008 due mainly to high fuel prices and increased input costs, it has come roaring back in 2009 and this year’s growth is expected to be in the 12-14 percent range. Chaney has found that his recipe for success combines quality ice cream with a variety of related amenities and events which draw folks who want to stay close to home, yet enjoy a small splurge with their families.

It all starts with the ice cream, of course. Chaney’s Dairy Barn is a barn-shaped restaurant along busy Nashville Road (U.S. Route 31W) adjacent to the family’s dairy farm. The restaurant serves homemade soups and sandwiches for lunch and dinner in a cozy setting, but the real draw is the ice cream — 11,000 gallons of it were sold last year and Carl expects that number to top 12,000 gallons in 2009. In addition to many traditional favorites, Chaney’s Dairy Barn tempts taste buds with its unique flavor creations, such as “Big Red Rumble,” which combines white chocolate ice cream with swirls of red velvet cake crumbs. This year’s latest hit flavor is Jersey Brittle, named for the milk-producing cows and the peanut brittle crumbles combined with caramel filling that lace a vanilla ice-cream base. Other popular but unusual choices include Blue Moon, Country Crunch and Sahmoo’as. In addition to these hand-dipped flavors, sugar-free and soft ice cream are also available.

Due to the very high set-up expense of processing their own milk as well as the volume of demand for their ice cream, the Chaneys buy processed milk from other Kentucky dairy farmers to make their ice cream. However, within the next three months, Carl and Debra hope to be able to start processing and using milk from their own herd as well.

While the Chaney family markets a lot of its ice cream from their home base, its best moneymaker is their ice-cream trailer. Most of its appearances are within a 30-minute radius, but the trailer also travels up to two hours away from the farm to take frozen treats to people across the state. During 2008, the Chaney Dairy Barn trailer appeared at 58 events; this year it’s projected to make 75 appearances, including a first visit to the State Fair in Louisville, Ky.

Being named the “Best Ice Cream in Bowling Green” in 2008 has given Chaney’s ice-cream a statewide reputation. No wonder Carl was named “2008 Business Person of the Year” by his local Chamber of Commerce.

Carl Chaney is a proud Kentuckian and, as such, he is pleased to participate in “Kentucky Proud” promotions. He launches many of these himself with his creative marketing ventures. For instance, Chaney’s Dairy Barn has just upgraded its playground facilities to attract more families. Additionally, their hayride farm tours — complete with a chance to meet Miss Glimmer, a seven-year-old Jersey cow who “talks” — catered to 7,500 school children last year. Carl delights in that “wow” moment when kids see milk come through the hose from the milker for the first time.

Since it wasn’t only the youngsters who wanted to visit the Chaney farm, Carl and Debra have added “Weekender Farm Tours” on Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., which often draw 25-30 people per time slot.

Chaney’s latest success is his new “dinner, ice cream and a movie” events held every other Friday night during summer. Free family movies like Kung Fu Panda and Madagascar 2 have brought in audiences of up to 400 people, who watch a popular flick projected onto a screen mounted on the end of the barn, where a retention wall makes a perfect amphitheater.

Chaney’s has also recently partnered with the Humane Society for a showing of “Hotel for Dogs”; audience members who brought pet food and treat donations received a free scoop of ice cream in return. Obviously, Carl and Debra aren’t afraid to try new things, such as using the Internet and Facebook to reach out to a new generation of ice cream lovers. Carl points out that using the Internet wisely is less expensive than television, radio or print advertising, yet its impact has been impressive — they already have 732 friends on their Facebook Web site.

What does the future hold for the Chaney dairy operation? “You never know what the Lord has in store for you,” answers Carl. Once they begin processing their own farm’s milk, they also hope to be able to start selling Chaney’s milk in many of the places that currently market their ice cream, including the National Corvette Museum and Mammoth Cave. And then there’s the state’s second largest middle school-high school complex being built just down the road . . . .

One thing is for certain. In a time when the dairy industry is struggling to survive, Carl and Debra Chaney have found a winning recipe for more than just ice cream.

To see the events at Chaney’s Dairy Barn, visit their Web site at www.chaneysdairybarn.com.