June 14th, 2012 was my first day as Dairy Manager at Bread and Butter Farm. I found Bread and Butter Farm in the late winter of 2011 when I decided to stop by to buy some raw Jersey milk. My good friend Kyla raved about the intensely high in butter fat delicious raw milk they produced, and I've heard about the farm before at various conferences, and through the Vermont Land Trust. Bread and Butter Farm is a small, diversified farm located on the border of South Burlington and Shelburne, VT, a few short miles from downtown Burlington. While in the the farm store for the first time, I recognized one of the business partners, Corie, from a conference on Slow Money at Shelburne Farms the previous fall. Although milking cows was a new trade for me, I introduced myself to Corie, and immediately asked if they were ever looking for relief milkers. Corie, 8 months pregnant at the time said, "Actually, yes" as she pointed to her pregnant belly. I helped them out milking two days a week for about a month an a half. I fell in love with the "rustic" style of milking the 5 cows in the corner of an old tie stall barn. Corie and Adam, business partners, acquired the farm at agricultural value through the Vermont Land Trust in 2009.
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| The Dairy Cows at Bread and Butter Farm Summer 2012 |
Corie and Adam hired me to take over the management of their small dairy herd and raw milk sales. This day was a dream come true for me. At the time, I was working on a large conventional dairy farm, and the day to day at the conventional farm had me questioning if I belonged. I learned a lot at this farm, skills that I am thankful for, but to be the manager of a small raw milk herd was, in my mind, the logical step in this new founded career of mine. We milk between 4 and 7 Jerseys for raw milk sales, and have about a dozen or so other lactating Jerseys, who we use as nurse cows to raise beef cows and steer. My dairy cows are Nellie, Bernadette, Rachel, Thelma, Meredith and Henrietta. Meredith just calved with her second calf yesterday.
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| Bernadette |
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| Nellie |
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| Thelma |
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| Meredith and her Bull Calf |
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| Nurse Cow Gina with her two calves |
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| The Piglets!! |
Bread and Butter Farm is successful because of its diversity. Adam, runs a wood fired bakery, baking German Sourdough breads twice a week. Corie runs the vegetable operation mostly in two hoop houses, and specializes in specialty greens, especially winter production. We also have a small pastured pork operation, raising 4 feeder pigs at a time, who help us reduce waste from our bread, milk, and veggies.
We market all of our products through our farm store, open 4 days a week. During the summer months, we have "Burger Night" where the farm opens up as a casual restaurant, and diners sit at picnic tables and on blankets in a field overlooking our farm. Burger Night has been extremely successful, and allows us to add value to our on farm products.
Farming here feels right. I am finding a new passion in the processing of my milk into various dairy products including, yogurt, butter, and cheese. Bread and Butter Farm is a special place as and Adam and Corie and their families are spectacular people. I would like to continue to blog as I farm at Bread and Butter, and as I do research for my own future farm some day about the amazing farms I have been learning about and visiting.
