Dairy Month | Littleton Food Co-op

Producer Spotlight: Sweet Rowen Farmstead

June 11, 2026 By Annie Stuart

Producer: Sweet Rowen Farmstead

Location: West Glover, VT

Found at the Littleton Co-op: spreadable farmers cheese, bloomy rind cheese, cheese curds, milk

Website: sweetrowen.com

Dairy production has a long and significant history in the United States, which we celebrate in June with National Dairy Month. The recognition, dating back to 1937, was originally called National Milk Month, and was started to promote milk during a national surplus. Before modern refrigeration, milk was not popular with consumers in the warm summer months, but farm milk production continued. Today, we move beyond milk to honor the contributions of dairy and the hardworking people who stand behind it. Not only does milk and dairy offer nutritional value to a daily diet, supporting local dairy means supporting local family farms persevering in an especially difficult and volatile industry. At the Littleton Food Co-op, we are honored to support local and regional dairy producers, and are excited to share a glimpse at some of their stories in June and beyond.

Paul Lisai didn’t set out to be a farmer, let alone a dairy farmer. Growing up in Vermont, he wanted a sustainable, regenerative livelihood from the land – dairy farming just so happened to fit the bill. His eventual farmstead’s name came from his time working on other farms, when farmers would ask him to get the sweeter, finer second cuts of hay for their cows, also called rowen. Sweet Rowen Farmstead started in 2011 with eight cows, and now milks over 60 cows on 500 acres of crop and pasture land. The cows are neither Guernsey nor Jersey, but a critically endangered breed called Vermont Heritage Linebacks. Vermont Heritage Linebacks evolved from the Randall Lineback cow, a landrace breed. Rather than going through selective breeding, landrace breeds were allowed to adapt to the climate and environment around them – Randall Linebacks adapted to Vermont, and Vermont Heritage Linebacks adapted to the Northeast Kingdom. Perhaps that’s why their milk won the Best Quality Award for Vermont in 2024.

In addition to providing the utmost quality for his cows and consumers, Paul has started numerous environmental initiatives on Sweet Rowan. The farm does not plow or till, which has resulted in an 0.5%-1% increase in organic soil matter, and catches water runoff to conserve resources, especially in droughts.

Status of product availability at the Littleton Co-op, and labeling of producers (such as local, Black-Owned Business, NH-made, etc) and product status or ingredients (gluten-free, vegan, etc) is based on available information at time of publication. The food world is an ever-changing landscape and information presented here may not reflect the most up-to-date information available.

Producer Spotlight: Huckins Farm

June 8, 2026 By Annie Stuart

Producer: Huckins Farm

Location: North Hampton, NH

Found at the Littleton Co-op: raw milk and yogurt

Website: huckinsfarm.org

The story of Huckins Farm in New Hampton, NH goes back over 200 years ago, but the farm and micro-dairy we know it as today started to take shape in 1906 when it was purchased by the Huckins family. It continues to be family-owned, with Matty Huckins at the helm. She arrived on the farm with her late husband in 1988, with no knowledge or experience but a love for animals. Together, their mission is to provide wholesome, nutritious products for you and your loved ones while promoting education through workshops and classes as we work together to cultivate a more healthy, sustainable, and loving world. The farm specializes in raw, meaning unpasteurized, milk and raw milk products, firmly believing in the power of the probiotics and enzymes lost from pasteurization. Their 16 Guernsey cows, each with their own documented name and personality, go through pasture-based rotational grazing (except in the winter) and the care of a nutritionist. Approximately 128 acres of Huckins’ farmland is permanently protected from development through the local Lakes Region Conservation Trust.

While holding strong through support from family and friends, Matty was still looking for a family successor in 2022. Her Lakes Region neighborhood has withstood the fall of local, family-owned dairies – unlike many New Hampshire areas – so she is hoping that she will be able to eventually pass the baton.

Producer Spotlight: Butterworks Farm

June 8, 2026 By Annie Stuart

Producer: Butterworks Farm

Location: Westfield, VT

Found at the Littleton Co-op: yogurt, kefir, buttermilk, heavy cream

Website: butterworksfarm.com

When the Lazor family started Butterworks Farm in Westfield, VT back in 1976, there was no other farm they knew doing what they set out to do. Thus, with no map to follow to create Vermont’s first organic yogurt, they led with what they had: the values of self-sufficiency, value-added dairy products, and land stewardship. That led to a 400-acre spread in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont supporting 76 100% grass-fed Jersey cows and a position as a leader in the field of organic dairy. The cows produce high-butterfat and high-protein milk and yogurt as they are treated to high quality pasture, free choice minerals, and plenty of space to move. After the passing of Lazor family patriarch Jack in 2020, the next generation Lazors and owners came to the difficult decisions to sell the creamery and land. Butterworks was purchased in 2024 by Anthony Calderaro, a NH technology executive with an interest in healthy food. After the sale he told Seven Days “I was very excited about this farm because they do it the right way,” he said. “I have this huge passion to take this great product and take it to the next level.”

The original Lazor owners, Jack and Anne, were honored with the Vermont Agricultural Hall of Fame lifetime achievement award in 2019. New owner Calderaro also told Seven Days he wants to continue the Lazor legacy and create a culture “where people enjoy working there and we pay them fairly, where people can go on vacation. You know, life can’t be just work.”

Producer Spotlight: Hatchland Farm

June 4, 2026 By Annie Stuart

Producer: Hatchland Farm

Location: North Haverhill, NH

Found at the Littleton Co-op: milk and cream

Website: facebook.com/hatchlandfarm

Some entrepreneurs have an internal battle on whether or not they should start their business before they dive in; for Howard Hatch, it required going through an actual war. Howard went to the Thompson School of Agriculture at the University of New Hampshire and worked on other NH farms as a herdsman. The Vietnam War draft changed everything. After serving in Vietnam in the 70th Combat Engineer Unit he knew he could no longer be someone else’s herdsman; he longed to work for himself on his own farm. He bought property in North Haverhill, NH in 1971, and by 1999 he was purchasing an additional property to expand operations. Not only did direct customers love Hatchland Farm’s milk, so did other companies; to this day, the milk from North Haverhill is sold under the Hatchland brand and under private labels for distributors in the northeast. The farm is home to over 600 cows, mainly Holsteins.

Perhaps most gratifying for the original Hatch patriarch: Hatchland Farm has remained a family owned and operated business. Howard Hatch now co-owns the farm with his wife and two adult children. Daughter Kristen has also spoken of getting her daughter, Emily, involved in the business to continue the local dairy legacy.