New Village Farm Raw Dairy Community Cooperative
Donation protected
New Village Farm is coming to grips with the reality that so many raw dairies have faced. Costs and labor are unsustainable and the old model just isn’t working. Only a few raw dairies in our region are still left standing. We are determined to find a way to keep our raw dairy alive! Rooted in our values of bringing our community closer to farming, we are pursuing the vision of a community cooperative farming model for our raw dairy. The community cooperative members will share ownership, decision-making power, and stewardship of the dairy with milk consumers. We believe that sharing the relationships to land, food, and cows with our community will benefit all. We need some funds to realize our vision!
With these funds, we plan to…
- Research consumer-owned cooperative models and incorporate a community cooperative dairy. We need to conduct focused research to gain the tools and wisdom needed to set up the community dairy for success. We hope to find cooperative models, perhaps in other sectors that we may be able to emulate. We intend to research the structures and systems of thriving consumer-owned cooperatives and adapt them to a micro dairy. We need to build a board, hire a business consultant and lawyer to support the development of the cooperative. Initial projected costs: $8,000.
- Pilot the most efficient tools to meet the needs of consumers and staff. We are not convinced that a traditional bulk tank system is the most effective distribution tool for getting milk to customers, but the labor and expenses of the glass bottle system we currently work with is also not feasible. We require a budget for the purchase of equipment alternatives to help us pilot a way forward without the handling and sterilizing of countless glass bottles or introducing disposable single use products. Our initial exploration involves 2-6 gallon stainless steel brewery vats with dispensing spigots, but these entail troubleshooting the issue of stirring in the cream. Initial projected costs: $8,350.
This is just the beginning. If we find community support for our vision. Phase 2 will entail building a sanitizing and processing room at the farm where community members can learn about and engage in all the steps of sterilizing equipment and processing excess liquid milk into yogurt, butter, kefir and cheese. Preliminary estimates put the cost of this phase over $50,000. This will both allow our participants to be part of every aspect of the dairy and allow us to create value-added products in times of excess production.
Many of you reading this page already know us, but just in case, here’s a bit about us… New Village Farm is an educational farm that empowers children and families to learn new skills, take on responsibility and build community, explore freedom in the outdoors, and care for plants and animals. We also have a farm stand where we sell our products, including raw cow and goat’s milk, pastured chicken and eggs, grass-fed beef, and New Village Gardens, where we grow fresh vegetables, herbs and flowers. Land stewardship is a big part of who we are, and we adhere to organic practices in our pastures and gardens. As an education farm, we are uniquely poised to educate and explore sharing the love and work of micro-dairying with our community through this cooperative. We hope to be part of redefining milk production into an environmentally and economically sustainable endeavor that enriches the lives of our community.
If you are interested in learning more about the raw dairy community cooperative, or in becoming a board member for the cooperative, please email us at [email redacted]
Organizer
Michaela Ryan
Organizer
Shelburne, VT