New organic dairy bullish on farm’s future
HOOSICK, N.Y. » Sam Cottrell has spent his entire adult life building a general contracting firm, one of two dream jobs he’s always wanted.
Now, at 72, he’s decided it’s time to try the other.
Cottrell and partner Eric Ziehm have started a new organic dairy, High Meadows of Hoosick, that’s going into business when many conventional farms are struggling to survive in this era of extremely low milk prices and rising production costs.
“A lot of people retire and buy houses in Florida,” Cottrell said. “I’m not into that. I like the Northeast. I was milking my uncle’s 30 cows while going to college and realized I really liked it. Then, after two tours in Vietnam with the Seabees, I got into construction, started my own business (HosCot Builders) and worked for a lot of other farmers around here.”
But deep down he never lost his love for cows, and the pastoral land they live on.
High Meadows is aptly named. Located in Rensselear County hill country, the site affords sweeping panoramic views all the way into nearby Vermont, where the 306foot high Bennington Monument stands out, towering above surrounding treetops.
“So I didn’t need much convincing to do this,” Cottrell said. “It’s fun. It’s only three miles from my shop so I can come up here, rake hay and be hands-on as far as field work goes.”
Ziehm’s motivation for starting the business is somewhat different. He’s part owner with his brothers, Stuart and Brian, of a large conventional dairy, Tiashoke Farms, which milks 1,200 cows in nearby Buskirk.
Organic production involves entirely different and somewhat more demanding practices. Cows primarily graze on pasture — chemical fertilizers aren’t allowed — and may not be administered antibiotics.
On conventional farms, animals spend most of their time in barns, consuming a diet that’s quite often supplemented by genetically-modified grain, another organic “no-no.”
However, organic milk also fetches a higher price.
“I was searching for a secure milk market, something that was more sustainable that we could count on,” Eric Ziehm said.
High Meadows went into production about a month ago and all its milk goes to New Hampshire-based Stonyfield, which uses it to make yogurt.
Stonyfield co-founder Gary Hirshberg visited High Meadows recently to get a look at the newest addition to his company’s network of 1,270 farms it buys milk from.
“This is the future, organic family farms,” he said. “The central challenge with organic is paying farmers enough to keep going without being so expensive that consumers can’t afford it.”
Cottrell’s building experience and Ziehm’s farm background make for a strong partnership. They purchased the 300-acre property last year.”
“Cattle hadn’t been milked here since 1993, but it was still used for raising heifers and crop production,” Ziehm said. “The former owners, Burt and Irene Luke, did a tremendous job of maintaining and preserving the farm’s beauty. When we walked in here, there wasn’t any cleanup to do. It was in good working condition. So we were able to step in, build fences and really go forward with it.”
However, Cottrell said improvements, including a large new free-stall barn capable of holdings 200 cows, have come to more than $1.5 million. At first, cows were milked in the farm’s old stanchion barn, but a temporary new milking parlor has been set up and will be used until a permanent large facility, on order from Ireland, is installed.
“This would be an incredible place to bring people and teach them what it’s all about,” Hirshberg said. “How do you educate consumers? Bring them to the farm.”
Likewise, Ziehm’s wife, Jamie, said she’d like High Meadows to be a place where high school students could come to learn how to work on farm, with a formal curriculum. Such classes, which might lead to rewarding careers, aren’t offered in local schools, she said.
“My dream would be to have a vocational center because there’s no educated farm labor force,” she said.
At present, the High Meadows herd numbers about 80 animals, with plans for considerable expansion on the horizon.
“We transitioned heifers (young cows that haven’t had calves) out of our conventional herd — a lot of Jersey, jersey crosses and smaller breed cattle that would be good grazers,” Ziehm said. “They’re organic now because they’ve been through a full year of transition. Then we purchased two small herds, one in Vermont, the other in central NY, which were already certified organic. So we could bring them here and start milking on day one.”
As both Cottrell and Ziehm have other business interests, they’ve hired 35-year-old Matt Hansen to manage the farm.
“I’m from West Valley, south of Buffalo where my dad has a 60-cow dairy,” Hansen said. “After college I started working at a tractor machinery dealership. This winter I heard about this job through my wife’s uncle, who works at Tiashoke Farms. It’s a great opportunity to expand, get bigger and work with a lot of great people.”
Organic dairy farming requires a great deal of record keeping to maintain certification.
“It is a challenge,” Ziehm said. “The biggest learning curve is pasture management. We’re really trying to educate ourselves on an every day basis, looking at the grass, looking at the cows, talking with people involved with pasture management and grazing. But when you break it down it’s still land, cattle and people. The key is, can we make a solid rate of return on our investment?”
“I guess I’ll tell you next year when we know the first year’s numbers,” Ziehm said, smiling.