Press Contact
Shane Rogers
Communications, Outreach, and Development Associate
srogers@gmfts.org | 802-334-2044
For Immediate Release
Happy Soil and Cows: Butterworks Farm
“The way we see the world is because of organic farming,” says Jack Lazor, owner and operator of Butterworks Farm in Westfield, Vt. “Having a relationship with the earth has a huge impact on the way you make decisions; everything from what you eat to how you care for things.”
Butterworks Farm started in 1976 initially preparing yogurt and cottage cheese on a wood cookstove and delivering door-to-door. For over 40 years and three generations it has grown, now producing an array of quality yogurts, heavy cream, beans, cereal grains, and cheeses. Butterworks products can be found in a variety of places in part due to their relationship with Green Mountain Farm Direct, a regional food hub run by Green Mountain Farm-to-School.
“(Farm Direct) gives us (access to) a lot more local institutional outlets that we couldn’t afford to otherwise sell to,” says Lazor, “It would be difficult, for example, to go to a senior meal center and sell three quarts of yogurt, but I’m really glad that places like that are now able to use our yogurt.”
Butterworks Farm products are produced from the protein-rich milk of Jersey cows which were born and raised on the farm without antibiotics or hormones to “ensure a premium product.” The cows are fed a nutrient-dense diet of pasture, hay, and grains grown in the Lazor’s own soil. They believe their farming philosophy and practices are just as much a part of their story as the products they produce and credit it for the quality of what they produce.
“Conventional agriculture is forcing the farmer to beat the earth in order to produce the cheapest food possible,” says Lazor later adding, “When you know where you food comes from, you have a connection to a story about a farm or a person, it teaches you about their lifestyle and beliefs.”
For more information on Green Mountain Farm Direct please visit www.GreenMountainFarmDirect.org. For more information on Butterworks Farm visit www.ButterworksFarm.com.
###
