Thorough plan details to preserve
the heritage and embrace the future of Norwich Farm.
Our Plan
As community members of the Town of Norwich, we are passionate about the future of Norwich Farm. Three years ago, we formed an open working group (the “Milk-Tank” think-tank), conducted research, and prepared a proposal for community consideration. Below is a link to download a summary of our detailed, 60 page proposal.
What is the plan?
Supporting local businesses and purchasing local food is important to us. We care about land conservation, environmental issues, stewardship, outdoor activities, healthy lifestyles, and recreation. We also value community outreach, multi-generational resources, education and accessibility as ways to give back. Most importantly, we understand the need for operational and financial sustainability.
The Norwich Farm Foundation (NFF), will operate a value-added dairy and creamery as well as a multi- generational, multi-faceted educational center through which the community can learn about value-added dairy and diversified agriculture.
Using an innovative agricultural model, combined with community support, NFF has a 10 year plan to create a working farm whose operations will allow the property to operate in a revenue neutral manner, putting it on a sustainable path for long term productivity.
NFF is seeking to purchase Norwich Farm to establish a working farm that will regenerate and perpetuate this important working landscape.
Why value-added dairy?
Dairy is an integral part of the history of our town, as is being self reliant in our own food systems. Norwich Farm remains as the town’s last functional dairy farm.
As consolidation in the dairy industry increases, there is an even greater need to foster decentralized production systems that directly impact their communities. Our solution is Norwich Farm Creamery (NFC): an exceptional dairy infrastructure and land base, proximate to a dynamic local community and economy, coupled with a food safe facility and trained operators, ready to quickly scale production.
NFC produces high-margin fresh and cultured dairy products, that turnover immediately and figure into the everyday ways people eat. It’s products service the increased market interest in traceable, local, grass-based dairy.
As we look back to the original farms of New England they were not simply of one type. They were diversified in order to support the family that lived on the land. As times have changed, we have lost much of our local connection to where our food comes from. NFC will establish a diversified farm, with a value added dairy its core, evocative of times past but tooled for innovation and the future.
The dairy
GOAL: Establish and operate an intensively managed dairy farm using existing facilities and land base, that focus on cow care and a regenerative agricultural system.
Norwich Farm Foundation (NFF) will hire a herd manager to operate the dairy. The herd will be established by purchase, beginning with 10 Jersey cows, with a target herd size of 20 milking cows.
The farm was recently functioning and all barn equipment is in place for operation, including a complete pipeline and milking system, gutter cleaner system, and feed storage.
The animals will be pasture based in summer, fed hay in winter, and fed supplemental non-GMO grain as needed throughout the year. The animals will be intensively grazed, maximizing the 65 acres of pasture and hay land available for cattle. We hope to partner with the Upper Valley Land Trust, as the agricultural acreage is owned and conserved under their Brookmead Conservation Management Plan.
Proper stewardship of the land is of the utmost importance to the quality of the food Norwich Farm will produce and the future of this farm as a working landscape. There will be a particular focus on creating a regenerative system, where farming practices increase biodiversity, enrich soils, and improve watersheds.
The creamery
GOAL: Norwich Farm Creamery (NFC) will operate a state of the art micro-creamery to produce a line of top quality pasteurized and raw milk, Grade-A cultured dairy products, and cheese from the milk of the on-farm herd.
NFC currently hauls milk from Billings Farm in Woodstock, VT and will continue with this milk supply and producing products for the local market until NFF can establish its own herd.
NFC has a facility operational today to produce Grade-A products, and the means and market for robust local and regional distribution. NFC will produce Bottled Milk, Yogurt, Ricotta, Kefir, and Ice Cream and offer Raw Milk for direct sale to customers from the farm.
The milk that NFC will offer is designed to fit a price point that is above conventional milk and below organic milk, while offering milk that is higher in protein, fat, and features a grass based biochemistry. NFC believes it offers more nutrition at a greater value than other regional products.
The creamery is housed in a brand new food safe processing facility that features, a 100-gallon vat pasteurizer, 30-gallon vat pasteurizer, high temperature short time pasteurizer, cream separator, bottle filler capper, ice cream batch freezer, a sealed sanitary production space, and a gravity flow milk pipeline.
Education & community
GOAL: Establish Norwich Farm as an educational center of excellence, which works with regional institutions to create learning opportunities and programming which tie into its diversified agricultural system and take advantage of its unique setting.
We will pursue a range of educational and community points of contact:
Marion Cross School Milk-to-School and School-to-Farm Program
Learning Garden
4H and Grange Programs
On-date dairy products donated to local food banks
Mission-aligned non-profits provided no cost access to the meeting areas
Community oriented workshops in dairy processing and appreciation
Internship, independent study, and employer partnership opportunities with regional students
Collaborations with local businesses on agri-tourism and learning opportunities
The facility
Norwich is lucky to have this farm with a large infrastructure in excellent condition already in place. Buildings and housing are difficult obstacles for agricultural businesses to overcome.
The property includes:
Creamery
Milking Barn
Dry Cow Barn
Heifer Barn
Herd Manager Family Housing
Cheesemaker Family Housing
Farmhand Family Housing
Community Meeting Room
Old Barn Education Center
Diversified farm initiatives
Norwich Farm Creamery has established other fledgling value added programs, including a flock of laying hens for eggs and a group of whey fed pigs for pork. Other value added initiatives that diversify product offerings, support the farm economy, provide ingredients for value added products, and increase educational learning points will be introduced.
These include:
Eggs
Honey
Pork
Veal
Learning Garden
Berry Orchard
Tree Fruit Orchard
Pasture Reclamation
Local Hay Cropping
Capital and fundraising
We view Norwich Farm in a similar way as a start-up with a vision, growth opportunities, and a mission to add value.
We consider the capital needs to be a three-stage process:
1. initial purchase of the property and purchase of equipment and cows
2. capital reserves
3. long term funding for growth and additional programs.
We intend to collaborate with the best resources available for value-added dairy initiatives, agricultural financing resources, economic development programs, grants, community-based fundraising, slow- money and local investing, and private capital donations. We have a strategy to work with experts and advisors who have extensive experience in this arena.
A detailed, consolidated 10-year financial plan is available.