Well... Not many generations of dairy farmers here! We are actually the first generation (born to a truck driver/household manager, and exclusive men’s clothing shopkeepers, in Holland). We chose to do this, crossed the Atlantic Ocean to actually accomplish it, and are making a go of it in Vermont’s Champlain Valley!
Starting out employed by our current business partner, Morey Miller, on a small farm in Connecticut (a farm that’s still active!), we milked 40 cows for ten years, during which time we added our two children, Kelcey and Dennis.
When it became apparent that 40 cows would not sustain us in the future, we eventually moved to Vermont and grew to our current herd size of 150 milking cows. By today’s standard this is still a rather small farm, but maybe already bigger than we’d like to be.
Our Yogurt Drink was born out of the conviction that there must be a different way of making a living as dairy farmers than following the ongoing trend in the industry of adding more and more cows to beat declining milk prices. We do like cows, but somehow 80 of them are more enjoyable to us than 800. So we set our sights on actually becoming a smaller farm! Between this desire to remain a small dairy farm and the reality of having financial obligations (bills!), selling our milk strictly as a commodity seemed no longer an option.
Our Yogurt Drink not only provides us with the pride and satisfaction of seeing people enjoy a product we actually create right here on the farm, it also gives us an opportunity to interact, listen to concerns, and educate people about dairy farming. This truly has added a whole new exciting dynamic perspective; making us feel good about the new direction we have taken our farm.
You can learn more about our cow families and see photos on their page.