In an excellent article in VTDigger, Emma Cotton reported that Danone (a multinational food and beverage corporation with headquarters in Paris, France) had notified all 28 of its milk-producing organic dairy farms in Vermont that they would not have their purchase contracts renewed next year. The principal reason for ending the contractual arrangement was that Danone could shorten its supply chain and lower its costs by focusing its sourcing on large milk producers in the Midwest.
Needless to say, when 15% of the organic milk production in the state is in jeopardy, there is significant cause for concern. The article goes on to report on the various trade groups and state agencies engaged in an attempt to address the issue.
Two thoughts occur to me that I think deserve consideration. The first is the optimistic idea that this adversity has another side; opportunity. Why not a Vermont brand of organic milk? The amount of product that would be coming on the market raises the possibility of building a local business that could profit from the Vermont brand, be marketed to the surrounding region and select metro areas and maybe even go back to the generations old style of delivering milk in a glass bottle.
Not only is that a current business model in the Upper Valley where Stratford dairy and McNamara’s family farms offer bottled milk, but it is one that has allowed for premium pricing since the products are distinctly better than a large-scale brand name like Hood.
It turns out that others have been thinking about the possibility for quite some time. The Rutland-based Vermont Food Farmers Cooperative’s Greg Cox informed me that the co-op has already registered the trade name “Heart of Vermont,” developed a logo and attempted the purchase of Thomas Dairy when it announced it was going out of business last year. Thomas should be familiar. It was a 100-year-old farm and bottling operation in the Rutland region.
The second thought is that dairy farming and milk production is a very difficult business in which to succeed. Not only has milk consumption been declining for years but Vermont dairy farms have suffered mightily because they are smaller and more directly impacted by production cost increases. As Cotton points out in her news article, Vermont dairy farms have declined by just under 70% over the past 24 years. So, venturing into this area is not for the faint of heart.
What are needed are a few steely-eyed successful business types to establish feasibility and provide organizational and managerial skills to the mix. This isn’t just a matter of raising and caring for a dairy herd, which is complex enough as far as it goes, but the issues are location, real estate, transportation, distribution, equipment, processing, regulatory approvals, marketing, employee oversight, billing and collections and financing it all.
My challenge is to some retired or semiretired business person to step forward and offer to lead the charge. These types of endeavors can be a lot like herding cats but there are a few among us who know how to cut through the dross with a sense of uncompromising realism. I am happy to help but my time is somewhat limited since I have a company to run. Feel free to contact Greg Coxveg@hotmail.com or me. david@barringtonpower.com. The outcome could end up like the Thomas Dairy demise or be another Ben & Jerry’s or a Chobani yogurt. It is up to us.
David Russell
Perkinsville
