In 1945, after serving three years in the Navy, Romanus (Pete) Dakin, the Dakin patriarch, started a dairy in Livermore, ME where he milked 16 cows.

By 1960, his dairy grew to 60 milking cows; he then bought a second dairy farm down the road adding 30 new cows. In October of 1963, after visiting Florida, Pete announced to his family "we're moving to Florida."

Pete and his family settled in Parrish, Florida and began chicken and beef farming. After five years of chicken farming, his contract was over and the bottom fell out of the beef business, so he built a milking parlor in 1974 between the two chicken houses and converted them to feed barns.

In 1980 his two eldest sons, Cameron and Farren, purchased and built their own Dairy Farms in Myakka City. They operate today as Cameron Dakin Dairy and Farren Dakin Dairy. In 1990, Pete retired and sold his herd to the two youngest sons, Rodney and Jerry. Jerry began his own business as Jerry Dakin Dairy in 1995 with 750 Holsteins. He built a state-of-the-art dairy in Myakka City encompassing all the new environmental issues into their design.

Today, they recycle and sell their rich compost to landscaping companies, grow hybrid grasses and corn on 300 acres. The Dakins' also have plans to incorporate methane digesting to produce a good portion of their electrical needs. The Dakin brothers have the last three remaining dairy farms in Manatee County.