Producer: Strafford Organic Creamery
Founder/Owner: Earl Ransom and Amy Huyffer
Location: Strafford, VT
Found at the Littleton Co-op: Ice cream, milk, eggnog (seasonal)
Website: Facebook Page
Our modern day food systems were built on the backs of People of Color (POC), particularly the Black community, without making room to acknowledge their important contributions. During the month of February, celebrated as Black History Month, we take intentional moments to celebrate Black entrepreneurs, inventors, and businesses that have shaped the way we eat, drink, and live. Supporting a vibrant and diverse producer network is a yearlong goal of the Littleton Co-op, and we are proud to highlight BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) voices. Read more about Littleton Co-op’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) work here.
Strafford Organic Creamery– steered by Earl Ransom, Amy Huyffer, and family– at Rockbottom Farm, is a living legacy in Vermont. As the one remaining dairy farm left in Strafford, VT, down from over two dozen in the town’s previous life, there’s a lot of pressure on them. Add the fact that Earl is one of three Black dairy farmers in Vermont*, and the spotlight shines brighter. But in Earl’s experience, “Being Black in Vermont has always been interesting, because it’s existing in a place people don’t expect you to be, no matter your profession.”
No matter the pressures that may or may not be on them, Strafford Organic Creamery is not one to succumb to doing anything any way other than what’s best for their Guernsey cows, their land, or their planet. They’ve been bottling their milk in glass since 2001 and haven’t looked back. Yes, plastic would be cheaper, and doesn’t require constant bottle return solicitations, but it’s nowhere near as sustainable. This goes hand in hand with their decision to remain a standalone farm, which means they do their own bottling on site. This means the Ransom family are the ones directly overseeing the process and setting their own standards. Their cows –with names like Pomegranate, Naan, and Larkspur– roam on organic, diversified pasture for 22 hours a day. Amy sums it up best: “I’ve thought about quitting every day, but I’ve never thought about compromising our values.”
Learn more about Strafford Organic Creamery on That’s Rad Episode 45: Strafford Organic Creamery where Amy Huyffer talks with the Co-op about life on the farm, Vermont’s dwindling dairy industry, and their mouth-watering ice cream.
*according to 2017 US Department of Agriculture census data
