Strafford family keeps Vermont dairy farm operating

Strafford Organic Creamery is one of the last dairy farms in Strafford, Vermont, where Earl Ransom and Amy Huyffer continue a family operation begun in 1979. The farm milks 60 cows and produces organic milk, ice cream and eggnog on site while facing labour and succession challenges.

Rockbottom Farm has about 140 cattle in total, with milking carried out twice daily, at 4am and 4pm. The farm currently milks 60 cows. Mr Ransom’s parents established the operation in 1979, and he and Ms Huyffer assumed control in the early 2000s. The couple opened Strafford Organic Creamery in 2001. It bottles hundreds of gallons of organic milk and makes seasonal products, including ice cream and eggnog, at the farm. Ms Huyffer said the process begins with well-managed land that supplies high-quality feed, while healthy and comfortable cows produce milk suitable for bottled products and ice cream. The farm follows an organic approach to managing its land and does not use herbicides, pesticides or chemical fertilisers. Mr Ransom said the work itself had not changed substantially, but the local dairy landscape had: when he was growing up, most of the neighbouring farms kept cattle for milk, whereas Strafford Organic Creamery is now the town’s only remaining dairy farm. The ...