Farming’s COVID Crisis: Specialty Cheese Sales, Milk Prices Plummet

Laini Fondiller describes the scene in her Westfield barn as “organized mayhem.” An excited goat chorus reverberates through her barn as the 30 or so Alpine and Saanen dairy goats – her “ladies” as she calls them – assemble for the morning milking.

Fondiller has been winning fans for her specialty cheeses since the late 1980s. The creamy, tangy delights she makes at her Lazy Lady Farm have gotten rave reviews in the New York Times and elsewhere. A good part of her business was sales to restaurants in the city. Not now.

“You call your distributors, and their hair’s on fire,” she said. “And, ‘No, not this week.’”

Of all the workers and industries devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic, Vermont farmers are among the hardest-hit. Wholesale milk prices have plummeted. and some dairy farmers have been forced to dump their milk.

For years, the state’s specialty cheese industry was a bright spot in the state’s often-hurting dairy sector. But the state’s cheese producers are now struggling as well.

Fondiller said after an initial 90% drop in sales, her business has recovered – somewhat. She started discounting prices and selling through community supported agriculture (CSA) outlets.

Read the rest of this story at VPR’s website.