Patrick Leahy: “in my home State of Vermont, where there are more cows then people, the local dairy industry is the bedrock of our…”

“in my home State of Vermont, where there are more cows then people, the local dairy industry is the bedrock of our communities. From Derby to Pownal, small dairy farms provide honest jobs and produce fine dairy products sought after by Michelin Star restaurants across the country. These farms also provide the beautiful backdrop of green pastures, grazing livestock, and the iconic bright red barns that attract hundreds of thousands of visitors to our picture perfect little State every year. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, consolidation within the agriculture industry, falling milk prices, supply chain delays, and the rising costs of equipment and other goods, small dairy farms have been hit hard. These difficulties, both longstanding and recent, continue to lead some lifelong Vermont dairy farmers to move on to other careers or to retirement, where they are often faced with the difficult decision to either sell their business and livestock to large, industrial factory farms, or undertake the difficult journey to find a local farmer who can take on their business and beloved cows. Today, I would like to highlight a piece of good news from the Vermont small dairy industry, a story of how the retiring founder of the most sought-after small-batch cultured butter operation in the country found a graduate of the University of Vermont's animal science program to continue a famous Vermont tradition.…”