House passes bill creating more economic opportunity for Vermont dairy farmers

Speaker of the House Shap Smith along with Agriculture Committee Chair Carolyn Partridge announced the House passage of a bill yesterday that will create more economic opportunities for Vermont farmers. H.58, An Act Relating to Goats Milk Standards, will allow farmers more flexibility to produce goats milk for processing and consumption.
As a farmer myself, I know how important it is to think creatively about how we can give our farmers more opportunities to succeed, said Rep. Partridge. This bill preserves our high standards for food safety while giving farmers another economic development tool.
The bill allows goat farmers to maintain a slightly higher somatic cell count in their herds. Rep. Partridge explained that goats have a different biology than cows, which requires different biological standards to maximize production and ensure safety.
This is a great opportunity for Vermont farmers who are struggling with low milk prices to transition to another form of farming where milk prices are lucrative and demand for the product is high, said Speaker Smith.
The Agriculture Committee heard testimony from a Vermont-based award-winning cheese maker Allison Hooper of the Vermont Butter and Cheese Company in Websterville. Though the company has the capacity to process 10 million pounds of goats milk a year, currently it only processes 4 million pounds, 2 million of which are from out of state.
This bill will give more incentive for Vermont farmers to milk goats and allow processing companies to reach their full potential, Speaker Smith said. These are exactly the sorts of economic opportunities Vermont must take advantage of in agriculture and in all sectors of our economy to not only weather the current economic storm, but to emerge stronger when recovery comes.