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Illinois creamery finding sustainability in diversification

A family-owned creamery is finding profitability in some unique markets.

Amy Marcoot, owner & CEO of Marcoot Jersey Creamery located in Greenville, Illinois, says their locally produced line of Jersey cheeses is just one aspect of the operation.

“We created a dog line that’s called Dog-O’s, and we make ice cream for dogs.”  She says, “It’s actually just human ice cream in a cup for a dog. And that is probably our greatest revenue stream is our dog ice cream and healthy dog treats and things like that.”

Beth Marcoot tells Brownfield that sharing the family’s seven generations of Jersey heritage has also helped sustain the farm.  

“We have multiple legs to stand on.”  She says, “We do a lot of tourism in agriculture. To offer really neat experiences, to see the cows being milked, to pet the baby calves, to experience cheese being made is just so important.”

The Marcoots were recently awarded with the Glen “GB” Brandt Prize for Ag Entrepreneurism at the 2026 University of Illinois Ag Tech Summit in Champaign.  Amy tells Brownfield…

“We’re very grateful.”  She says, “Because of this award, we’ll be able to purchase a pneumatic cheese cutter.  We have individuals literally hand cutting every single piece of cheese that you see, and this will allow it to be done a little bit more efficiently and a little bit quicker. And as our orders continue to grow, it is very important for us to continue to learn how to do that.”

AUDO: Amy & Beth Marcoot – Marcoot Jersey Creamery

Karl Barnhardt, chief marketing officer with Brandt, says the award is presented by the Brandt Family Foundation to honor the company’s founder.

“We lost GB back in 2020.”  He says, “He founded Brandt in 1953, and he built Brandt based on entrepreneurism. If he didn’t have an answer, he went out and invented an answer.  And so, when he passed, we wanted to find a way that was appropriate to keep on building that legacy.”

The Marcoots say finding value added diversification has been vital to not only sustaining the dairy farm, but also key in its continued growth.

AUDIO: Karl Barnhardt – Brandt