Paul, Linda, Ellen and Claire Stanley
At the Paul-Lin Dairy in Vermont, near the Canadian border, there are 30 registered, pure-bred Jersey cows and 30 young stock, but no tractors or other mechanical farming equipment. "Only a hay elevator to transport the square bales of alfalfa to the loft of the dairy barn," says farmer Linda Stanley. Because the farm is only 38 acres in size, with steep, rocky pastures, the family purchases all its winter feed from growers in Canada.

With an intensive rotational grazing system, the cows move from one fenced paddock to another and enjoy fresh grasses daily during the warmer months. In winter, they exercise for an hour in the barnyard while Linda, Paul, Ellen and Claire Stanley eat breakfast. Each cow is milked in her own barn stall with a portable milking machine.

Since July 1, 1985, Linda has managed the dairy, while her husband Paul works off the farm as a certified crop consultant for 30 plus farms in the area. "Our daughters have grown up in the barn. They are animal lovers and give lots of gentle attention to the calves. This is a way of life that can't be matched. Miraculously, it's worked for us."

Now that everything we make is organic, Paul-Lin Dairy no longer provides us with milk. But they’re still members of St. Albans Cooperative Creamery, who we have worked with for almost two decades.  But like all family farms, Paul-Lin Dairy still helps to preserve our nation’s rural beauty and farming heritage, and we’re happy to have our friends continue as part of our Have-a-Cow program.