Alan Hodge
Wednesday, April 29, 2026 12:17 pm
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Spring is here and Guernsey Girl Creamery near Polkville is moo-ving swiftly into another season of offering superior dairy and other homemade food products to its customers.
The operation, whose apt motto is "The Little Dairy with Big Flavor", is located at 3361 Bridges Dairy Road off Stagecoach Road near Polkville.
Ashley McMurry, her husband Dustin, and kids Molly, 4, Silas, 9, and Charlie, 13, run the 140-acre place.
Ashley is the fourth generation of her family, the Bridges, to live on Bridges Dairy Road. She gave a rundown of its history.
"My great-grandparents Charles and Kathleen Bridges started farming on this road," Ashley said. "They grew cotton, tobacco, and raised hogs, and chickens. In 1949 my grandfather Charles, Jr., started the dairy. My father Kevin eventually took it over. He still lives here in the house great-grandfather built."
In 2008, Ashley graduated from NCSU with a degree in Agriculture and a minor in Animal Science. In 2010 her father retired, and she began running the operation.
"I was able to keep some of the cows," she says. "In 2011 I received a $10k grant from Rural Advancement Foundation International. I was also able to borrow equipment like a milk pasteurizer from the NCDA."
Since then, the farm has grown.
"We now have fifty Guernsey cows," she says. "We also have fifty beef cattle in Belwood."
The cattle eat a lot of hay.
"We grow hay on 500 acres of rented land in places like Cliffside, Casar, and Lawndale," said Ashley.
According to Ashley, the Guernsey cows produce about 700 gallons of milk per week.
"I do the milking twice a day," she says. "The milk is A2 which makes it easier to digest. It is vat pasteurized."
The milk is sold in one-gallon and half-gallon jugs at the dairy roadside store in plain, chocolate, strawberry, and coffee flavor. The chocolate is especially rich and its smooth, creamy, chocolatey flavor makes the big box store variety seem like brown water.
"We have a very broad customer base," Ashley says. "People come from as far away as Charlotte, Asheville, and Morganton. They take it home in coolers."
Ashley also churns the milk into cheese which is also available at the store in the form of curds and pimento cheese.
"I taught myself how to make it," she says.
In addition to milk, Dustin grows a variety of vegetables like peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, and broccoli for sale.
"He has a two-acre garden and a greenhouse," said Ashley.
The store is a cornucopia of good things. About half of the space is open air and the space where the vegetable stand and refrigerators holding milk and cheese from the Guernseys, homemade sausage, and sourdough bread from Martha's Amish bakery in Polk County. The indoor portion has shelves loaded with jams, jellies, molasses, eggs, and a freezer chock-full of beautiful steaks, chops, hamburger, and other meats.
Payment is by the honor system with a jar for a cash register or by putting your phone in front of a Venmo code. The open-air part is always open, the indoor part Saturday 9am-1pm and Sunday-Friday 1pm-8pm.
In addition to keeping the dairy and store thriving, the McMurrys are also active in agricultural and community affairs. Ashley is a member of the Cleveland County Farm Bureau board, the American Guernsey Assoc., and Young Farmers and Ranchers. Dustin is a member of the Polkville VFD.
Odds are great that a fifth generation will one day be running the farm.
"The kids are very much involved with everything on the farm," Ashley says. "Silas loves to cut the grass, Charlie can drive a tractor and bale hay, and Molly picks dandelions."
The boys appreciate their unique lifestyle.
"It's great that we get to things that other people don't get to do," said Charlie.
"It's fun!" said Silas.
In any case, the family is here to stay, keeping the Guernsey Girl Creamy legacy alive and well.
"If Dustin and I ever retire, said Ashley, "We will never sell the land."
For more information see the Guernsey Girl Facebook page at www.facebook.com/guernseygirlcreamery/ or call 704-692-8230.