Miles once wrote, “Work hard, make money and spend wisely. Along with his business and his family, giving back was a very important part of his life. In 1961, with $1,000, Miles established the Ezell Foundation and it has been blessing ever since, supporting such ministries as Youth Encouragement Services and Agape Nashville as well as helping build Christian based institutions of higher education such as Lipscomb University. Miles also marketed his products heavily and brought some well recognized characters to Purity Dairy advertising campaigns, including Ernest P Worrell posing the registered trademark line, “You know what I mean, Vern?” ![]() His packaging breakthroughs of non-wax milk cartons followed by the yellow plastic jug helped Purity Dairies remain a leader in quality, freshness and delivery. He was a pioneer in the use of refrigerated tanks on dairy farms and vacuum pasteurization. Despite significant competition at the time, Miles took on the challenge and through hard work, tenacity, a commitment to quality and a focus on innovation, his dairy survived the Great Depression and World War II and outlasted his competitors. ![]() It all began for Miles Ezell in 1926 when he was offered to rent a milking operation from a wealthy local doctor. Miles Ezell not only excelled financially and was a mighty man of God, he also raised a great family who remains a lamp shining on the city of Nashville and the surrounding communities to this day. For the past 50+ years, the Ezell Foundation has funded many important causes, missions, ministries and initiatives. Then, through the wise stewardship of his son Miles Ezell Jr and now grandson Mark Ezell, Purity Dairies now generates more than $170M in annual revenue while maintaining a commitment to run the business with strong family values, a Christian ministry and supporting the community. Starting from very humble beginnings in 1926 by renting some cows and equipment, Miles Ezell became the largest dairy proprietor in Davidson County, Tennessee. The slow collapse of the dairy industry is complex, but it’s difficult to see much good coming from this bankruptcy filing.Miles Ezell was a christian business leader who founded Purity Dairies and was a very generous benefactor to his community of Nashville, TN as well as a benevolent steward of the resources God gave him. Both organizations settled for more than $100 million, without admitting guilt. That exclusive contract was with…Dean Foods. A DFA-Dean combination could create a severe monopoly in the liquid milk industry, and even worse, because it’s a cooperative, DFA isn’t required to pay the minimum dairy prices set by the federal government.ĭFA and Dean Foods have both run afoul of labor violations in the past DFA was investigated for price manipulation in 2007, having set artificially low milk prices in exchange for exclusive contracts. Jessica Fu at New Food Economy dove into the possible repercussions of such a purchase. That’s already a bad situation, as it grants a company like Dean Foods incredible leveraging power over small farmers but the only thing worse than having a single client might be having no clients.ĭean Foods also said in its announcement that it would be looking for buyers to take over the business, saying they’re in “advanced discussions” with one buyer in particular: Dairy Farmers of America, or DFA, which is the biggest dairy cooperative in the United States. ![]() ![]() Those farms are technically independent, but as with chicken farmers, many dairy farmers have only one client to whom they sell milk. The obvious issue here, aside from the lost jobs and effects of closing Dean Foods plants, is that Dean Foods is one of the largest buyers of milk in the country, purchasing directly from small and medium-sized farms. Nobody, not even the largest of milk distributors, is safe from those kinds of forces. Thousands of established dairy farms have already shuttered in the past few years, the victim of oversupply, steadily reduced demand, trade wars, and milk alternatives. The dairy industry, despite an uptick in milk powder sales in China, is desperately struggling. Despite the press release describing the recent action as a “voluntary reorganization,” we can call it what it is: Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It’s a massive dairy company that produces the Friendly’s brand of ice cream and distributes in all 50 states. This week, Dean Foods, America’s largest dairy producer, filed for bankruptcy.īased in Texas, Dean Foods distributes many brands such as Land O’Lakes, Mayfield Dairy, and Purity Dairies.
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