Category: dairy

When the “supercommittee” on debt reduction collapsed one of the proposals that collapsed with it was a potential change in the nation’s dairy policy by year’s end. Federal price supports for agriculture, as with everything else, are the obvious targets of budget cutters, then, and now.

full story

VERGENNES — Nobody likes to think about the worst-case scenario, but at a forum at the Vergennes American Legion last week Julie Smith urged the 10 or so farmers in attendance to do just that.

Smith, a dairy specialist at the University of Vermont Extension,  is partway through a three-year USDA-funded project aiming to educate and combat potential hazards to Vermont’s food production systems, specifically dairy.

full story

NEW HAVEN — Visitors to the Addison County Fair and Field Days last week could follow the “Fresh cheese curds” sign and find themselves next to the Milking Parlor and Dairy Bar, at a simple white trailer with a window on one side.

Veronica Pedraza, wearing a net cap, guarded the sterile environment of her mobile cheesemaking unit. She was spending the summer traveling with the Orleans County Fair mobile cheese unit to county fairs around Vermont.

full story

FERRISBURGH — After netting a host of awards for high-quality milk and conservation farming practices, Cheryl and J.D. DeVos of Kimball Brook Farm in Ferrisburgh have a top prize to add to their trophy case: Vermont Dairy Farm of the Year for 2011.

full story