Some photos from one of my regular activities during the cheesemaker month at Woodcock: milk pickup on a frigid morning, at Jersey Girls Dairy, in Chester, VT. In addition to sheep’s milk from their own flock, Woodcock Farm has begun purchasing cow’s milk from Lisa Kaiman at Jersey Girls, a small dairy, established in 1999, that is known for the quality and cleanliness of the raw milk that they produce.
Both Lisa’s milk and her humanely raised, milk-fed veal are sought out by chef’s and cheesemakers alike, and in the past she has worked with producers like Consider Bardwell and Peter Dixon. Lisa’s milk goes into cheeses like the Magic Mountain alpine, Timberdoodle, Cloud 9, and others. They also make Jersey Girl, a cheese that Woodcock produces for Lisa.
From the Jersey Girl site:
In 1999 Lisa Kaiman opened Jersey Girls Dairy in Chester Vermont. The Princeton, N.J., native who first milked cows as an aspiring veterinarian was determined to make it work. She spent some eight years working on other people’s farms, studying what she liked and didn’t like. She bought an old farmhouse that had no running water or electricity and started remodeling. No matter what the circumstances she kept up her mantra… We Are All What We Eat.
It wasn’t long before she was milking 2 dozen Jersey Cows and selling raw milk to some of Vermont’s finest cheese makers and to her neighbors as well. Soon she started selling veal to a few local restaurants. Through hard work, innovative thinking and sincere love of her animals she has grown the business. She now has a full scale pasteurizing operation and bottling line and is selling milk and veal at not only her own retail store up the road, but at area farmers markets, local groceries and restaurants.
In 2012 Lisa was featured at The James Beard House in New York City. The “Vermont Veal Renaissance Dinner” was a celebration of her forward thinking veal operation and how a small dairy farmer can make humanely raised veal an economically viable solution. Her products were showcased in a 5 course menu to a sold out crowd.