Community

It was 1919 when 94 central Vermont farmers joined forces to turn their surplus milk into butter. McDonald Farm in Danville, one of the original co-op members, is still going strong.

Floyd and Millie Fisher started their farm back in 1946 with 42 cows. Their granddaughter LouAnne King, works closely with her brother, David Fisher, to run the family operation that milks about 2,200, primarily Holsteins, and crops more than 4,500 acres.

Up at 3:30 am to feed and milk, clean the barn, feed again, and then do miscellaneous chores before breakfast, Vince Malnati chuckles that his wife Carol gets to sleep in almost all the way to 6:00 am. Carol then...

Proud Dad Few things make farmer Brian Lynch happier than being outperformed in the barn by his own sons. He and his wife, Jennifer, get significant help from the two youngest of their six children, Gannon and Brady, caring for the farm’s herd of primarily registered Jerseys....

Transition of a Different Kind While many Cabot farms represent generations of family, there are first-generation dairy farmers among the co-op community. In some cases, like that of Lucas Dairy Farm, those younger farmers still benefit from the mentorship of seasoned co-op members. Jon Lucas first worked closely with longtime co-op member Dave...

“Free-range Children” Way up north, as they put it, just five minutes from the Canadian border, the Putneys work together on their dairy farm where Leslie (Skip) and Deb raised their seven kids. Most of their kids—Naomi, Nathaniel, Joel, Jesse, Luke, and Lydia–are now involved in...

Welcome to All In addition to running their dairy business along with son David and his wife, Asia, Beth and Bob Kennett have hosted guests on their picturesque farm for decades. Visitors come from all over to experience the daily...

Family Lunch At fourth-generation Laurelbrook Farm, family lunch is as much a part of the daily routine as milking times. Even after patriarch Robert Jacquier passed away a few years ago, his wife Dottie has continued to cook for all...

There’s no mistaking that Tim and Steve Kayhart are brothers — from their similar builds and easy smiles to their almost-matching beards. Like many siblings, the Kayharts admit they didn’t always see eye to eye growing up. But after returning...

Coming Home The value of staying on his family’s seventh generation farm has grown gradually on James Hutchins. While he had always enjoyed doing farm chores, James decided he wanted to try something else and left home to study heating and plumbing....

“In our blood” Farming goes back to at least the early 1800’s for the Tetreaults, now in their third century of making a living off the land. “It’s in our blood,” says Dale who, with his brothers Dan and Done, took on...