Sustainable agriculture. The phrase has a nice ring to it – at the checkout counter, in the kitchen, and on the farm. After all, sustainable agriculture is everything we’d like farming to be – responsible, environmentally sound stewardship of the land, at the hands of people who respect it. According to Allison Hooper, cofounder and owner of Vermont Butter and Cheese Company, the day-to-day realities of sustainable agriculture demand far more than a desire to live the farming life and preserve open pastures. Meeting these demands isn’t easy.
“This is the greatest challenge to the agriculture industry in Vermont,” she says. “The sustainable of sustainable agriculture means, ‘Does this type of production agriculture pay the farm family’s bills year in and year out?’ To be blunt, it may be environmentally sound, it may provide quality work for farmers, but if there is not a profit at the end of the day, it’s not sustainable.”
The Business of Sustainable Agriculture
The work of sustainable agriculture extends well beyond animal husbandry. Farms — even small farms — are businesses. Because farmers tend to operate on tight profit margins, virtually every business decision is critical. The soundest decisions will be informed by well-maintained records of feed mixtures, milk production, and breeding schedules. Keeping farm land open is hard work – and a challenging business.
That’s why Hooper and her business partner, Bob Reese, promote sustainable agriculture by helping farmers manage the complexities of this worthy venture. Some of the company’s key initiatives include the following:
- Working with farmers on goats’ milk pricing
- Developing a technical assistance program in farm management
- Growing the market for European-style cheese by making and marketing premium goats’ and cows’ milk cheeses
While sustainable agriculture often takes place on small farms, it’s hardly a solo enterprise. Developing sustainable agriculture as a viable force in agriculture today entails a serious commitment from all stakeholders in the process. In the early days of the company, Hooper drove her pickup truck around Vermont twice a week, from White River Junction to St. Johnsbury to Richford, picking up 430 pounds of milk from small hobby herds. Today, they still buy milk from a network of small family farms.
Supply and Sustainability
Vermont Butter & Cheese Company is committed to sustainable agriculture. The company owes its success, in large part, to the quality milk provided by its network of suppliers. But will the milk source remain sustainable? This question drives the recent collaboration with the University of Vermont’s Center for Sustainable Agriculture and the Vermont Dairy Sheep Center; together the groups hired a small ruminant technical assistant. The first program of its kind in the U.S., the partners in this joint effort see the relatively high concentration of farmers milking sheep and goats in Vermont as a unique opportunity to lead the nation in two vital industries — goats’ and sheeps’ milk production and cheesemaking.
“There is a great deal of synergy between these two industries,” Hooper says. “Vermont has a lot going for it for this kind of diversification in dairy. As long as market demand is high for goats’ and sheeps’ milk products, we should devote some resources to helping farms create benchmarks and best-management practices for their industries. Knowledge at the farm will contribute to sustainability.”
The program is modeled after successful technical assistance programs in Europe, where Hooper served her apprenticeship on a small farm in Brittany, France. At home in Vermont, she finds hope in a growing U.S. market for sustainable agricultural products. And that, she says, is the real key to the future:
“Chefs and consumers are the ultimate decision makers. Not only are they buying the best of European-style cheeses, but they are making a contribution to the preservation of family farms in Vermont. People like that.”
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