Guess Which Local Dairy Won the Award For NY’s Best Milk

Cornell University is focusing on the best tasting milk in New York State and two local dairy producers walked away with top prizes.

Cornell's Milk Quality Improvement Program has awarded Stewart's Dairy in Saratoga Springs top honors in New York's annual fluid milk tasting competition, conducted by the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets. It's the sixth time Stewart's has won the top honor, the last time was in 2017.

Stewart's also won the top award for best chocolate milk, beating out 21 dairies from across the state. Stewart's has several stores in Utica, Rome and the Mohawk Valley.

Another local dairy won the first-place award for the "flavored milk" category. Stoltzfus Family Dairy of Vernon Center won for its pasteurized, non-homogenized mocha and latte “cream line” milk, according to Cornell.

“Congratulations to our dairy processors and our dairy farmers behind these fantastic products,” said Richard Ball, commissioner for the Department of Agriculture and Markets. “We know New York produces some of the best milk there is, and I am honored to join Cornell in sharing these stories of success with all New Yorkers.”

Cornell's Milk Quality Improvement Program was established in the early 1970s and the competition has been held since 1979. New York is the only U.S. state to hold a taste quality competition.

According to New York's Agriculture and Markets, New York is the nation's fourth-largest dairy producing state, with nearly 4,000 dairy farms. New York's dairy farmers produce more than 15-billion pounds of milk every year, making up for nearly half of the state's agriculture receipts.