PEI’s ADL and Dairy Isle cheese
Lee Turner of ADL Dairies (Amalgamated Dairies Ltd, a producer-owned co-op) feels very fortunate. And so he should: he lives in one of Canada’s most picturesque provinces. “If you could look out our windows and see what we see every day, we’re pretty sure you’d say ‘wow, what a beautiful place.’ And we’d say ‘darn right it is, and we’re proud of it.’”
ADL is located on beautiful, pastoral Prince Edward Island, with head office and cheesemaking facilities in Summerside. Healthy dairy herds dot the rolling hills, enjoying a landscape so many come to admire. The high quality dairy products that ADL produces starts with the fresh milk that comes daily from family-owned farms. “At ADL we still believe in good old-fashioned craftsmanship, time honoured recipes and doing it right. There’s no rushing here and no cutting corners. We’re farmers and we’re families; like you we know it’s important to know where your food comes from. That includes a place of honesty and trust,” Lee says.
The dairy co-operative history began in 1953 when seven small dairy co-ops joined together in order to grow their business. In the years since then other producers have joined and other dairies acquired, making ADL the largest independent dairy in Atlantic Canada. Currently, there are 165 farmer-owners supplying milk to ADL; and not surprisingly, the producers are amongst the company’s most loyal supporters.
Lee says ADL owes much of their success to Darcy Carr, their master cheese maker. Darcy has been on staff with ADL for more than 40 years, supervising a cheese production that relies on recipes that originated when the company was formed. ADL has made cheddar the same way, under the same cheesemaker, since before most of their staff were born. There is a wonderful story here about Darcy, who has resisted all temptations to speed up the process, to alter the taste with artificial ingredients, to modernize the recipe, or bend to the pressure of what the “big guys” are doing in order to compete as costs go up but product prices go down.
Darcy is now the most decorated cheesemaker in Canadian history, and ADL has become one of the best-kept secrets in Atlantic Canada.
Under Darcy’s guidance ADL has won a myriad of awards. Their cheddars have won them very high praise, with the mild, medium and sharp all bringing home medals for the company. They also have awards for their extra mature, mature and marble cheeses, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. ADL is more than cheese and cheese-making: they also produce butter and ice cream. I was very pleasantly surprised to learn that they also produce a sweetened condensed milk as well as evaporated milk. These products are all sold under the brand name of Dairy Isle (as are some of their cheeses) and they are found throughout Atlantic Canada. In fact, ADL is the second largest producer of evaporated milk in Canada! Unfortunately, one has to be on the Island to experience the milk and ice cream but you can add that to your already long list of reasons to visit PEI.
Master cheesemaker Darcy has trained apprentice cheesemaker, Wade Corcoran, plus seven other cheesemakers at the ADL facility, to ensure that no matter what happens, there will always be the same commitment to quality that they’ve insisted upon since the day he started. Interestingly, all across Canada, dairies are struggling to find qualified cheesemakers to keep their plants running. Thanks to his dedication, Darcy has given ADL two generations of cheesemakers. That gift, combined with the abundance of quality milk from their beautiful Island farms make for a story of commitment that ensures ADL’s journey into the future will not be a brief one.