| FEBRUARY 3, 2011 -- It’s been five years since the first cartons of Farmer’s Cow milk hit store shelves, and in those years the company’s product line and its influence on how local farms do business has expanded significantly.
The brainchild of six Eastern Connecticut dairy farmers, The Farmer’s Cow grew out of a movement called Very Alive to shine a light on the importance of agriculture in Connecticut. Robin and Lincoln Chesmer, owners of Graywall Farm in Lebanon, started Very Alive, and their farm is now the headquarters of The Farmer’s Cow.
“We were a group of farmers who wanted to stay in business and grow,” Robin Chesmer said. “We evolved out of that. We educated ourselves and took field trips, and that’s where the idea for The Farmer’s Cow started.”
The six farms are all equals in the company and meet monthly. Chesmer’s job is to execute the company’s plan daily.
Leading a revival
Farming in Connecticut is experiencing a bit of a renaissance thanks to a demand for locally grown food. Department of Agriculture Commissioner Steven Reviczky said the farmers of The Farmer’s Cow are helping pave the way for that renaissance.
“It’s essential for Connecticut farmers to be doing the types of things that the folks at The Farmer’s Cow have done,” Reviczky said. “They are cutting-edge. They are excellent farmers and exceptional business people. They seem to do everything right.”
From the first half gallons of milk to hit the shelves in Connecticut Stop & Shops, the company’s product line has expanded to include cider, iced tea, lemonade, ice cream, eggs and other dairy products.
Stop & Shop was integral in getting the business off the ground, Chesmer said, and it has been a major part of its expansion. While the company was still in the planning stages, the supermarket chain heard of it through news reports.
“They called us,” Chesmer said. “We didn’t have a product yet, but we had a store that wanted to sell it. It was a huge stroke of luck for us.”
Local cider
Since then, it was Stop & Shop that suggested the cider, iced tea and lemonade product lines, he said. This spring, the lemonade line will expand to include strawberry lemonade and raspberry limeade. The cider comes from local apples and is bottled at Maple Lane Farms in Preston.
“These are two more Connecticut businesses we’ve been able to support with our products,” Chesmer said.
The cider, tea and lemonade gave the company a presence in stores outside the dairy aisle and helped it to develop name recognition with consumers year-round.
Paul Miller, owner of Fairvue Farms in Woodstock and another of The Farmer’s Cow farms, said the increased product lines have helped the company go into stores with a full truck and an opportunity to add value to the brand.
“It’s still in its infancy,” Miller said. “We’ve made recognition with the general public. We still have to fight for shelf space with the big gorillas in the marketplace. They aren’t about to relinquish market share, and we don’t expect them to.”
Other larger supermarket chains, Miller said, including Wal-Mart, have followed the lead of Stop & Shop.
Suzi Robinson, Stop & Shop’s manager of public and community relations in its New England Division, said consumer demand is driving the supermarket’s interest in locally grown products.
“We talk to our customers every single day. They are great about letting us know what they want,” she said. “If there is a local product we can stock, we’ll give it a try for our customers.”
Expansion ideas
Chesmer said The Farmer’s Cow has significant long-range plans. The company has seized an opportunity to get into restaurants and coffeehouses with its heavy cream and half-and-half. And it recently began offering milks in single-serving sizes. Some private schools have begun offering them in the cafeterias. Miller said he would like to see the state support local business by stocking local milks in its schools and prisons.
The ice cream line also will expand its eight existing flavors to include Muddy Boots Knee Deep in Chocolate, Farmland Crunch, Sugar House Maple Walnut and Red White and Moo.
“There are so many products where you’re not quite sure where it comes from,” Chesmer said. “We’re the real deal. We take a lot of pride in what we do. We take a lot of pride in our product. We take a lot of pride in the quality of life we help preserve.”
Reviczky said when people know they can buy a local product, it connects with them on a personal level.
The personal connection to the products is exactly why Cora Hayward and her family buy from The Farmer’s Cow. Hayward and her sister, Rhonda Owen, grew up on a dairy farm.
“We want to support farmers,” Hayward, of Norwich, said.
“It’s really an exciting time to be engaged in agriculture in Connecticut,” Reviczky said. “Looking at what The Farmer’s Cow has done so far and having an idea of their plans, the sky is the limit for them.” |
