Legacy Dairy and Creamery is proud to be a part of the rebuilding of Hallam.

In just a year, they've become the largest employer in town, and they're bound to keep growing as Legacy fans from Holdrege to Omaha continue to thirst for their milk.

What firsts grabs you about Legacy Milk is the thick, rich taste. But what really makes you come back for more is when you understand why Legacy Dairy exists in the first place.

The Legacy owners were tired of seeing local dairy farms fade away. The end result is turning non-milk drinkers into Legacy lovers.

"Right now we're bottlin' 2 percent milk in half gallons," said Cory DeFrain, Legacy Dairy plant manager.

DeFrain left the family farm to manage Legacy Dairy.

"We're going to do about 400 gallon today," DeFrain said.

And in the course of a week, Legacy is processing 3,500 gallons of growth hormone-free Nebraska milk -- not bad for their first year in business.

"It taste like milk's supposed to taste. It's got a rich dairy taste to it," DeFrain said.

And that rich dairy taste is enhanced by the master mixer himself.

"Well, I mix it and I mix it the way I like it," DeFrain said.

And he's not the only one who likes it.

"The problem is is that it's so popular they can't keep it on the shelves," he said.

"We've got people drinkin' milk that never thought they'd ever drink milk because of our flavored milk. Chocolate and root beer are our number one sellers," said Debbie DeFrain, co-owner.

Cotton candy and banana flavors are also legacy fan favorites.

"I like to experiment with different flavors," he said. "It don't take very much. Just watch that when it hits the milk, it just turns right away, kinda like chemistry, you know."

But DeFrain's mother said the popularity isn't just about the variety of flavors.

"It's because of our glass returnable bottles. Our glass bottles keep our milk colder, longer, fresher. You still get that cold glass of milk," she said.

The DeFrain family is pleased with their early success, but they also see the bigger picture.

"We're not only in this to help develop our family to stay in the dairy industry, but for other younger generations that want to stay or start out in the dairy industry," he said.

Every ounce of Legacy Milk comes from local farms.

"We're lookin' for the 50 to 60 cow dairies to help them out so they have a market for their milk and not get pushed out by the larger dairy farms."

When Debbie and her husband took over the family dairy near Fairbury in 1974, there were 3,500 dairy farms in Nebraska. Today, there are less than 300. That's why they've vowed to do their part in enabling future generations of local dairy farm families to return to the family business.

For more information about the Legacy Dairy, click here.