Making Yogurt and Supporting Dairy Farms With Hayley Painter of Painterland Sisters

On this week's episode of the FarmHouse, a podcast by Lancaster Farming, we're talking to Hayley Painter, half of the sister duo that created Painterland Sisters. Painter and her sister, Stephanie, are the co-founders and co-CEOs of the organic skyr yogurt brand. Skyr is an Icelandic style yogurt that the Painter sisters make with milk from their family farm and about 25 other organic dairy farms. "Most skyrs are higher in protein, naturally lower in sugar and are really thick and creamy," Painter said. The sisters started the business to keep their dairy farm afloat during years of bad milk prices and have since made it their mission to support as many other dairies as they can. Painterland Sisters yogurt is organic. The sisters' family farm made the switch to organic in 2003, and during the certification process, the family realized it had already been utilizing many organic and regenerative practices. "It's not just about soil health," Painter said. "It's about the health of the animals and the health of the farmer and the health of the agriculture industry being able to sustain itself." When Painter and her sister decided to branch out into the world of a value-added product, they met their fair share of challenges, many of them due to the fact that both are young women. During the early stages of the business, she said they'd have to hire an older gentleman to act as a spokesperson on their behalf for business deals. But as the business has grown in size and recognition, Painter said those specific challenges have eased. "I heard once that your biggest challenge is also your biggest strength," she said. "That is equally true of being young women starting a business. We have this optimism about us. We have this young energy." The Painterland Sisters were rewarded for their dedication by being named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, a goal they envisioned long before becoming entrepreneurs. "We didn't actually think we could make that list, ever. That was impossible in our minds," Painter said. "Your biggest goals, even if they seem unreachable — keep them in your back pocket."