Vermont’s 2023 Dairy Farm of the Year has been chosen. We got help from our partners at the UVM Extension to take you to this Caledonia County spot that persevered through some tough times.

The Ackermann Dairy is on Route 16 just outside East Hardwick. The 100-acre farm has 130 cows, milking 65 of them.

Their sign says they’ve been around since 2014. Owners Sarah and Jimmy Ackermann were looking to buy a farm nine years ago.

“We were getting married and thinking of starting a family and we wanted a place to call home,” Sarah said.

“So we started looking to buy a farm– it’s not like buying a house. They’re not just advertised in the paper,” Jimmy said.

But they found one who was looking to sell. A year later, they were the new owners and took it organic, a process that took years.

“The biggest relief was when we were able to finally use the feed that we made from our farm. From our land for our cows,” Sarah said. “It was a real sense of accomplishment.”

But then their provider for eight years, Horizon Organic, dumped them and many other Vermont dairy producers.

“We knew that it was only a matter of time before we got the letter saying they weren’t going to pick us up,” Sarah said.

That was in 2021. They had a year to find a new buyer for their milk.

“We were scrambling,” Sarah said. “We reached out to Stonyfield, Organic Valley, Upstate Niagara– nobody was taking on new farms.”

“It was rough,” Jimmy said.

They thought about selling the farm but couldn’t bring themselves to do it.

The Ackermanns then got a call from Stonyfield. They would take the milk.

A year later, they’re being recognized for their hard work as the 2023 Dairy Farm of the Year. Their resilience and dedication through the transition helped earn them that award. It’s perseverance they say will help them get through more tough times, like this summer’s weather.

“If it’s worth doing once, it’s worth doing twice. And a lot of times you do something and it don’t work out and you do it again,” Jimmy said.

And they say at least right now, one of their daughters seems interested in farming.