Back in February, Charles Martin, Deputy Secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources (ANR), joined CVFC for a visit to two large dairy member farms: Blue Spruce Farm in Bridport and Kayhart Brothers Dairy in West Addison. So when he reached out to see if we could show him around some smaller farms, particularly some run by new, young farmers, we were happy to oblige!
We brought him to visit Tup’s Crossing Farm in Orwell, Golden Russett Farm in Shoreham, and Cutting Hill Beef Company in West Cornwall. It was a beautiful, sunny day for touring the farms and talking with the farmers. Deputy Secretary Martin appreciated the opportunity to see how these farms operate first-hand and hear about their successes as well as their challenges. He was particularly interested in knowing what resources they relied on as they established their farms. Our farmers were happy to share!
Holly Menguc of Tup’s Crossing Farm is a first generation goat farmer. She manages a herd of 450 goats–a mix of Saanen, Alpine, La Mancha, and Nubian breeds–on 242 acres. Early on she relied on assistance from NOFA Vermont’s Beginning Farmer program with finding the right farm, crunching the numbers and developing her business plan. More recently she was awarded a Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center (NE-DBIC) grant to study extended lactation in goats. Holly is always thinking about how what she does today will impact her farm months and even years from now. She feels privileged to have navigated both the NOFA resources and the grant funding process with success and wishes that there were more support for farmers in finding and applying for available assistance and funding.
Pauline Stevens grew up farming. Her parents established Golden Russet Farm, an 84-acre certified organic vegetable farm in Shoreham, in 1984. They grow wholesale cut flowers and fall vegetables as well as vegetable starts, herbs, flowers, and hanging baskets for their farm stand and greenhouse sales. When the time came for her parents to retire, Pauline made the decision to move back to Vermont and take over the farm. She and her parents reached out to the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board, who connected them with the Vermont Field Agent at Land for Good to develop a transition plan for the farm. It all went smoothly but with the benefit of hindsight, Pauline’s advice to anyone else navigating this process: if you’ve been away for a while, give yourself time to work on the farm before tackling the transition paperwork. You’ll be wiser and better able to make the right long-term decisions.
Ramsay Mellish runs Cutting Hill Cattle Company, a 400 acre organic farm, with his wife Caroline. They raise organic dairy and beef cows as well as chickens and pigs and sell the meat directly to consumers on their website. Ramsay is committed to diversification and the proven benefits of grazing multiple species on the same land. He wonders if his approach could scale and benefit bigger farms? This is one of the reasons he decided to join the CVFC; he wanted to connect with other Vermont farmers, share ideas, and learn from each other, especially as the older generation transitions out of their careers and younger farmers take over. Ramsay decided to step up and take a leadership role in the farming community. He encourages other new farmers to do the same. A good reminder that CVFC membership is free to farmers.
Many thanks to Holly, Pauline, and Ramsay for welcoming us, and to Deputy Secretary Martin for his thoughtful questions and enthusiastic support of these young farmers!
Here are more pictures from the day’s visits:
