When customers see the splash, they know it’s Coleman fresh.

We’ve come a long way from delivering raw milk out of the back of a horse-drawn wagon but not too far to forget our roots. Throughout our 150-year history, Coleman Dairy has proven that innovation and success thrive within the context of honesty and hard work. Today, as a division of Hiland Dairy, we remain committed to bringing you the freshest milk and dairy products at the best possible price.

A History of Hard Work and High Quality

Coleman Dairy is one of the 100 oldest family-run businesses in America. Today, we deliver milk to eight Southeastern states and the Caribbean, but the story of the oldest dairy west of the Mississippi begins in 1862 in Little Rock, Arkansas where an innovative man named Eleithet Coleman became the first person to provide milk to his neighbors. His son Fred kept the business thriving for nearly 40 years before passing the mantle to his son, W.C. Coleman. In 1948, the business passed to a fourth generation of family leadership when H.S. “Boots” Coleman ushered in an era of modernization.

Growth Through Innovation and Partnership

Throughout the years, Coleman has prided itself on safe and excellent dairy products coupled with excellent service and goodwill toward Coleman Dairy employees and local communities. Boots introduced pasteurization equipment and partnered with another local dairy to boost Coleman’s milk output to 2,000 gallons per day. Affiliation with the Quality Chek’d Association and mergers with eight area dairies boosted daily milk production to 35,000 gallons by the end of the 1960s.

Coleman has long strived to be on the forefront of technology as well. In 1971, Coleman Dairy introduced plastic milk jugs and in 1981, we became the first dairy to give hand-held computers to route delivery drivers. Leadership of the dairy passed from Boots to younger brother Buddy Coleman and his sons, Bob, Walt and Cherb. One hundred and thirty-three years after Eleithet bounced his way down Little Rock’s streets delivering 10-gallon cans of raw milk in a covered wagon, Coleman Dairy came under the ownership of a local dairy farmer co-op, Associated Milk Producers, Inc.

Additional mergers including one with farmer-owned, co-op Prairie Farms in 2006 boosted milk production to over 1 million gallons a week and allowed Coleman Dairy to deliver milk to large grocery store suppliers. Today, as a division of Hiland Dairy, we continue to invest in state of the art processing and packaging facilities to maintain our commitment of supplying fresh, local dairy products to the families and communities we serve.