Guest Column: Cottrell Homestead Dairy - Same As It Ever Was

Like many of us, Blue Moon has slowed down a bit over the years.  It's to be expected, actually.  The 12-year old grande dame of the Cottrell family's herd of prize-winning Ayrshire dairy cattle has lived three times the lifespan of an average cow in today's automated intensive milking operations.  Her longevity mirrors that of the historic farm she calls home. 

The white cow with the soft neck and roan freckles might attribute her venerable career to the lush grass and sweet corn she enjoys on 73 acres of West Kingston bottomland.  She might mention how good the soft loam feels beneath her hooves in between twice-daily trips to the milking parlor (many dairy herds stand on concrete for months at a time).  Or the fact that she was spared the growth hormones that work a cow to death in just a few years.  She'll certainly tell you how Oliver Cottrell, 82 years young and still able to outwork three-quarters of the men half his age, has been with her every step of the way.

Whatever the case, the old girl has sent over 150,000 pounds of farm-fresh, hormone-free milk down the line to the bulk storage tank.  Since 2004, her work and that of 50-some other Cottrell animals has gone into the Rhody Fresh brand, a cooperative venture started by five family farms (now nine) who believe in the power of differentially marketing their own top-quality milk grown locally with respect and without chemical input (no rBST).  You can really taste the difference! Consumers have embraced the brand, eagerly paying a premium price to support rural traditions and agricultural open space in the bottom of their cereal bowls.  Rhody Fresh has gained visibility through supermarket placement and institutional support from organizations like the Providence Bruins and Brown University.  

This is good news for an agricultural sector that has fallen on hard times.  Just a few decades ago there were more than 80 dairies in Rhode Island.  Feed, fuel and labor costs rose steadily.  Taxes increased.  Supply-based pricing driven by large-scale dairy farms capped earnings and made it difficult for the small operator to compete.  The number was reduced to 55.  Many farm families lacked the will to continue such hard work at low margins.  Development pressure skyrocketed in the 1980's and challenged generational transfer.  More sold out.  Now there are 18.  Rhody Fresh, the bright spot on the map, outpaced earning projections and paid off the group's $125,000 start-up loan years early.  Today the brand serves as a template for other local agriculture branding initiatives such as the Rhody Warm wool co-op and the recently launched Wild Rhody (responsibly harvested local seafood).

Outside Oliver's barn, the first light of a late summer morning sparks a golden glow on 8-foot high corn tassels.  The 7th of John and Helen Cottrell's 9 children tells how his grandfather John bought the place in 1900 and walked the herd over from Saunderstown.  He began building the foundation of today's registered show herd in 1951 with two cows named Lassie and Halloween.  Over the years ribbons would fill bushel baskets.  Cousin Craig Hawksley handles the breeding now, selecting for body conformation, wide hips, udder placement and milking history.  Cottrell's Ayrshires produce rich, creamy milk that tests far above industry average for butterfat content.  The milk is perfect for cheesemaking, the new Rhody Fresh value-added product venture underway at a recently purchased plant in Warwick.  Look for it next year.  They must be doing something right - a Cottrell heifer sold last year for $17,000 setting a breed record.  

Son Matt Cottrell oversees milking operations and speaks fondly of his beautiful brown-and-white Ayrshires.  He knows each one by name - there's Norma and Patty, Velma and Dot.  "Once you've had them you don't want anything else.  They're smart and they stand proud and pretty out in the field."  Unlike the Holsteins - "milk factories" dumb as a stump that just stand there waiting to be fed, "the Ayrshires know how to go find food and are easy to work with."  The quiet Swamp Yankee notes "We don't push them, rather have them in top condition", placing a vacuum-sealed milking line on a swollen udder and watching another 25 pounds of wholesome goodness begin the trip to your family's refrigerator.

Respecting the Protein,

Patrick Beck

Director of sales and marketing for New England Grass Fed LLC. Contact: pat@newenglandgrassfed.com

You can find this and other entries at Beck's website here.