LOCALadk Magazine

A New Generation of Farmers in the Nor th Countr y Story by Angela Smith, Certified Business Advisor at the North Country Small Business Development Center Ashlee Kleinhammer and Steven Googin are start-up farmers and owners of North Country Creamery at Clover Mead Farm, a dairy farm specializing in the production of grass-fed, all-natural Jersey milk, cheese, and yogurt. Ashlee and Steven are part of a new generation of American farmers who are young and college-educated. The recent trend of food awareness, which includes a preference for locally grown foods and a holistic approach to farming, is convincing young people to return to the trade. Ashlee worked on both Vermont and New York farms before deciding to settle in Keeseville to start her own business. Unlike Vermont, she noticed the market was wide open in the North Country. Popular farmers' markets provided a terrific opportunity to jump into direct sales. Steven, who had worked on various farms and local food distribution businesses in Central New York, joined forces with Ashlee. One big challenge they faced was the daunting price of land. Ashlee came to the North Country Small Business Development Center for assistance in reviewing her business plan and financial projections. She then applied for approval to the board of directors of Open Space Institute, which helped secure the purchase of of a 112 acre farmstead. This story is echoed by other young budding entrepreneurs who are changing the farm landscape in the North Country. Mace Chasm Farm, a meat farm across the road from North Country Creamery at Clover Mead Farm, raises grass-fed beef, pastured pigs, chickens, and lamb. Owners Asa Thomas-Train and Courtney Grimes Sutton butcher their own cuts of meat and offer a line of sought-after homemade sausages. A few hundred yards down the road, in a timber-framed barn, brothers Dylan and Dan Badger are putting the final touches on their new farm-brewery, slated to open in June. Dylan studied plant and soil sciences at University of Vermont, and Dan studied biochemistry before completing the Master Brewers Program at the University of California, Davis. Their new brewery, aptly named Ausable Brewing Company, will produce a line of high quality beers and craft sodas using ingredients sourced as locally as possible. This new community of farmers is working together and finding creative ways to help each other. For example, they re-purpose spent brewing grain and dairy whey to feed pigs and they share a delivery route to bring their goods to customers. In June, Ashlee, Steven, and Marla Gilman will open Clover Mead Café Farm Store & Bakery, located at 810 Mace Chasm Road in Keeseville, N.Y. The store will be open Friday through Sunday during the summer. Visitors can stop in to indulge in fresh baked pastries, breads, sandwiches, soups, 28 Summer 2014 LOCALadk

• Cover