In 2018, Ozzy Osbourne, the iconic “Prince of Darkness” who recently passed away at the age of 76, stepped away from the stage and onto a dairy during an episode of “Ozzy & Jack’s World Detour.” That day, he and his children, Jack and Kelly, paid a visit to Shatto Milk Company, a family-owned dairy and milk bottling company in Osborn, Missouri, for a behind-the-scenes look at farm life.
Barbra Shatto, owner of Shatto Milk Company, remembers the experience fondly.
“The producers contacted us a month or two before and asked if it would be okay to visit,” Shatto says. “They asked that we not tell anyone that we were coming, so we closed our doors to tours that day. We had to keep it a secret until the show aired on TV”
A True Shatto Experience
Though the visit was kept quiet, Shatto says it was anything but forgettable.
“Ozzy was his usual self — the black hat, the coat and just a little crazy,” she says with a laugh. “They wanted a tour, to try our products and to give their hand at milking a cow. One funny thing that really stood out about Ozzy was that he absolutely loved our strawberry ice cream. He carried around a cardboard box of it, ate it throughout the day and even took it with him when they left.”
Not surprisingly, Osbourne was especially fascinated by the cows and the milking process.
“He milked a cow and was genuinely interested in how it all worked,” she says. “It’s probably not something he was very familiar with, but he seemed to enjoy every bit of it.”
Ozzy, Jack and Kelly took in the full Shatto experience. From visiting the bottling line and browsing the country store to meeting the calves and walking through the barns, the Osbourne family spent their entire day taking it all in.
“They loved all of the farm activities,” Shatto says. “And they were all very down-to-earth. Ozzy went around and would talk to a lot of our employees and ask them questions. He talked with our herdsman about the cows and our store employees about the bottling process. It was just like having an old friend come and visit.”
In true Ozzy fashion, Shatto remembers how Ozzy needed a bit of gentle wrangling from his kids.
“It was sweet watching his children keep him in line,” Shatto laughs. “He would sort of wander off to look at things, so Jack and Kelly would have to reel him back in.”
Shatto’s Deep Roots
Hosting Ozzy and his family was especially meaningful for the Shatto team, whose dairy roots run deep.
“Our farm is a centennial farm, going back over 110 years. It’s been in my family for 85 years, and we currently milk around 300 cows,” she says. “In 2003, we built the bottling plant and launched Shatto Milk Company because the milk check just wasn’t cutting it. We wanted to keep our cows and start selling directly to consumers.”
Since then, Shatto Milk has built a loyal following for its small-batch, farm-fresh dairy products and bold flavored milks. The company has become particularly known for a few of its staple flavored milks, such as root beer, cookies and cream, cotton candy and coffee.
“We even do special edition flavors to celebrate the Chiefs during the playoffs and the Royals during the World Series,” she says. “We’re also starting a mocha protein drink soon.”
A Visit to Remember
Osbourne’s visit has become a cherished memory for Shatto and the employees at Shatto Milk. An experience that has since become even more meaningful following the news of his passing.
“I didn’t even know he had Parkinson’s,” Shatto says. “I was just talking about him with friends a couple days before the news came out. I was saddened to hear that he had passed. He was a legend.”
Reflecting on that special day, she adds, “It was exciting and such an honor to host him here. And the whole thing about our town being Osborn, which is spelled just a little differently, well, that became an inside joke for everyone. But truly, it was just so much fun having him here on the farm. He was kind to our workers, curious about the farm and left a fun memory behind for all of us.”
Following the release of the episode, Osbourne shared more about the experience in a 2018 interview with Rolling Stone, revealing that milking a cow wasn’t entirely new to him.
“Everyone was surprised I could do it,” he told Rolling Stone. “But years ago, when I’d come back off tour, when I’d have jet lag in the ’70s and there was no all-night TV [in England], I’d get up very early, and I’d walk up to this farmer who lived nearby. He was milking cows at, like, five in the morning, and he showed me how to do a few things. And I’d help milk cows. So, when I did it [on the show], everyone was like, ‘How did you know how to do that?’ And I’m like, ‘Well, I’m not just a singer.’”
And on that Missouri dairy farm, even if it was just for one day, he proved it.
