In The News
What - Milk in Glass Bottles Again?
The Herald - June 14, 2001
The drive to the Strafford Organic Creamery-the only organic, fluid milk creamery in Vermont-is a good indicator of what the place itself is all about.
The mountain road is slow, winding its way up into hill country. The road forces you to take your time; and the farm and creamery, owned by the Ransom brothers, seem to have the same focus. As Amy Huyffer, Earl Ransom's wife, puts it, their interest is "slow food": that is, the antithesis of fast food.
The farm and creamery are the result of a family effort. Earl Ransom manages the place and does the milking. His brother William is in charge of raising the young stock and distributing their milk state-wide.
The third brother, Berry, raises the hens that provide the farm with fresh, organic eggs for their super-premium ice cream. Their cousin, Stephanie Hyson, does all the marketing and sales and Amy makes the ice cream and is jokingly referred to as "their CEO."
The Ransoms have 300 tillable acres and milk 30 cows, the majority of them Guernseys. Their milk has a golden hue indicating high levels of beta-carotene, which comes from the cows eating fresh grass and is the most intense in early summer when the cows are eating dandelions. Guernsey milk is also creamier and higher in protein than milk from other breeds. The skim milk especially is noticeably richer and more full bodied.
Strafford Organic started selling relatively small orders of milk to about 17 different stores, but now sells to 23 stores with orders doubling and even tripling. The creamery sells about 490 gallons a week, a big increase since their milk first went on the shelves this past April. In addition, comments and postcards from customers indicate a positive response to the creamery's products.
Since the beginning, the Ransoms' approach to farming has been focused on sustainability.
During the boys' childhood, their father cleared the land for farming, but made sure to leave one or two full-grown trees in each new pasture. Today the trees look like giant lollipops and the family calls them the "Dr. Seuss trees." In fact, these tall trees encourage the cows to gaze evenly as the patches of shade they provide circle around the pasture throughout the day.
The Ransoms also use rotational grazing and plant alfalfa, which puts nitrogen back in the soil and is a high-protein plant that cows love.
The Strafford Organic Creamery has chosen to sell its milk-skim, 1%, 2% and whole-in glass bottles because they are reusable. Furthermore, they are convinced, the milk tastes better in glass.
When asked why her family started their own creamery and distribution, Amy replied, "All farmers dream of someday seeing their milk on store shelves with their farm name on it."
The Ransoms were seeking the independence that would allow them to have ownership over their product and, as Amy stressed, to provide customers with fresh milk straight from the farm.
After the Ransoms began selling their milk to an organic distributor in 1997, they discovered that it was often mixed with milk from out of state and was getting to stores over a week after leaving the farm. For the Ransoms, this knowledge called into question "what organic really means."
In the case of their farm and creamery, being organic means not using antibiotics, pesticides, herbicides or hormones on either the cows or the land. It also means tire cows graze all summer and the farm grows 80°.6 of their feed-including hay, corn and peas-and supplements it with grain from the Vermont Organic Grain Company in Bethel.
The Ransoms' decision to become an independent creamery required them to be innovative. Since it is difficult to buy small-scale creamery equipment in the United States, the Ransoms bought their machinery from Israel. With lots of training and support from the Israeli company, they got their creamery up and running in time to start selling their own milk this April.
Ice Cream, Too
Later this summer, the creamery will offer organic ice cream. Amy and Earl went to "ice cream school" at Pennsylvania State and learned all about the product-from how to prevent freezer burn to how to get a great texture.
The Ransoms are currently making a vanilla ice cream with organic eggs, milk and cream from tire farm. Unlike many ice creams, the flavoring is subtle and allows the taste of the milk itself to come through. This summer they hope to increase their range of flavors to include coffee, chocolate, maple and berry. They have started a project to grow their own organic berries and hope to use William's maple syrup.
When talking about the farm and creamery, Amy points out the importance of having a connection to your food and hopes more people will perceive the value of buying locally.
She also talks about how important it is for farmers, who are often isolated, to have a sense of collectivity. "If you like to farm," she says, "it probably means you like to do your own thing, but it's important to have a connection with other farmers."
The Strafford Organic Creamery delivers milk twice a week to the White
River Co-op in Randolph and to other natural food and general stores
in the Upper Valley and throughout Vermont.
05/2000
Woman Unhurt, Horse Injured in I-91 Accident
Trailor Rolls Over After Truck Leaves Highwayby Rich Barlow, Valley New Staff Writer
HARTFORD
- A Hartland Four Corners woman was uninjured yesterday when the truck
she was driving, and the horse trailer it was towing, went off Interstate
91.
Carol Stratton's horse sustained cuts on its front legs and above its eye and took a half hour to extract from the trailer, which rolled onto its side in the accident.
The trailer became unhitched from Stratton's Chevrolet pickup in the accident, which happened at about 5:45 p.m two miles south of the interchange with Interstate 89.
Norwich veterinarians Christine Pinello and Joanne Giel cleaned and bandaged the horse, named Brother, and took him to their clinic for suturing.
"He rolled, so he's lucky to be alive," Vermont State Police Trooper Barbara Kessler said.
Kessler, herself a horse owner, climbed into the overturned trailer to calm the horse, wrap one of its injured legs and help free it.
Hartford firefighters helped back the horse out of the trailer.
Kessler might have been injured had the horse been spooked and reared, but "you could tell a well-trained horse like that."
Besides, she said, "I can't stand having an animal in pain."
Stratton, 68, was on her way back from a show at Hitching Post Farm in South Royalton. She told police that she may have fallen asleep at the wheel.
(photo caption: Carol Stratton of Harland Four Corners, left, comforts her horse, Brother, after yesterday's accident. Trooper Barbara Kessler helped free Brother from the trailer. Valley News -- Amy Thompson)
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05/2000
Norwich's River Road Vet Clinic Is Expanded
BY GUY C. DENECHAUD
Valley Business Jounal, June 2000
Christine Pinello, M.S., D.V.M. of the River Road Veterinary Clinic in Norwich has announced the start of an expansion of the facility on River Road. According to Pinello, the additional space and interior modifications will enable a number of improvements in operating efficiency as well as increasing the range and volume of services that can be performed at the clinic. Staff is being expanded accordingly.
When River Road Veterinary Clinic was first built in 1988, it was designed by Larry Hart of the Larry D. Hart Architectural Design Service of Fairlee, VT as a basic veterinary service., building. The building contained about 1,700 square feet of floor space. Business at River Road grew steadily and by the middle 1990s Christine Pinello requested Larry Hart work up a plan that called for a phased expansion of the facility. The resulting plan included a Phase I and Phase II component and was approved by the Town of Norwich at that time. Phase I was completed in 1996, adding 670 square feet of new room to the facility. Work on Phase II is now beginning that will add approximately 2,500 square feet to the main building.
Preliminary work began in April with the removal of part of a sand bank behind the building in preparation for the excavation that will be the first step in the actual construction process. Paul McGovern of Thetford, VT is serving as the general contractor on the project.
Subcontractors on the job include: site preparation by Larry Godfrey of Thetford, concrete work by Saffo of Woodsville, mechanical/plumbing by Craig Walker of Strafford, HVAC and electrical engineering by Gordon Grahaman of Sunapee, and roofing by Flint, Blake and Boles of Sharon. McGovern reports site preparation to be well underway during May, and should be finished about the first of September.
A growing customer base and the doubling of space at River Road Veterinary Clinic will enable an expansion in the number of veterinarians on staff and the enhancement of a number of services offered at the clinic. Joining Christine Pinello, D.V.M. full time are JoAnne Giel, D.V.M., and joining part time are Maria Dunton, D.V.M. and Mary Hoffheimer, D.V.M. Expanded space dedicated to surgery will make it possible for staff to perform two separate surgeries at the same time. Added space will allow for separate areas to be maintained for the secure kenneling of cats and dogs. Between small runs and cages, there will now be 28 spaces available for small animals. Nineteen larger kennels, measuring 4'x4' will be offered for larger dogs, and one room with nearly 150 square feet of floor space will be able to accommodate a large farm animal. Dr. Pinello often makes trips to farms in the area to treat cows, horses, sheep or other larger animals but up to this time there has been no room at the Clinic sufficiently large to make it possible for any of these patients to be worked on in the clinic itself.
Space will be allocated for animal grooming and bathing, additional storage, and there is sufficient flexibility within the kennel alignment to make it possible for animal quarantine to take place and a pet with a serious disorder may be kept in isolation if necessary. Additional new space will be available for an expanded staff lounge area, offices, and a recycling center.
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05/20/2000
Family Survives Rabid Bobcat Attacks
FLORENCE, VT. (AP) - It took three members of aFlorence family, a machete and a pistol to subdue a rabid bobcat that tried to force its way into their home after being cornered by the family dog.
The 40-pound female bobcat tried to get into the home of Edward and Linda Tuliper after Linda Tuliper opened the front door at about 3 a.m. Sunday to investigate what. they thought was their dog Max fighting with a porcupine.
Linda Tuliper slammed the door, but wedged the bobcat's head and front leg between the door and frame.
"It was snarling and it was growling and it was clawing for all its worth," Edward Tuliper told the Rutland Herald.
Tuliper said he went to his gun cabinet for a rifle, but couldn't find any ammunition. So he went back to his bedroom, grabbed a machete that he kept near his bed and ran back to the front door.
Hs wife and 13-yar-old daughter, Brittany, were still there, trying to shut the door on the animal, but the cat was persistent.
Tuliper lunged at it with the machete and rained several blows down upon its head.
"I couldn't tell you how long I fought with it," he said. "The adrenaline was going and all I could think of was trying to protect my family."
Brittany grabbed a pistol and gave it to her father, who continued to struggle with the bobcat. After striking the animal in the head several times, Tuliper said, he thought it was dead. But it continued to flail at him with its claws.
Tuliper fired from point-blank range three times, but missed on each shot.
"I thought I was close enough to hit it," he said.
So he took careful aim and fired again. That time, he said, the bobcat stopped moving. It was dead.
The carcass was subsequently tested and found to be rabid. WCAX television reported it was only the second time since 1960 that a rabid bobcat has been reported in New England.
Vermont Game Warden Donald Isabelle said he had never heard of a bobcat trying to get into a house.
"It was probably trying to get away from the dog that was tethered in the yard," he said. "When they opened the door, it probably saw a chance to escape:'
Fortunately, the animal didn't hurt anyone, Edward Tuliper said. Max only had scratches and a bite on his ear. Max's rabies vaccine was up to date.
The family will have to undergo preventative shots against rabies.
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