STOWE, Vt. (WCAX) – Vermont cheesemakers recently brought home 34 ribbons at a national cheese competition. The awards come as no surprise when the state is home to big names like Cabot or Jasper Hill. But there are also many smaller players tucked away in the Green Mountains making waves in the dairy industry.
On a small bit of land in Stowe, sisters Molly and Katie Pindell care for 16 alpine goats.
“They love people. They’re very, very curious and have tons of personality. So for us, it’s just been a really good choice,” Molly Pindell said.
The goats at Sage Farm Goat Dairy are basking in a recent win: two ribbons secured at the American Cheese Society National Judging and Competition last month.
“It all starts with the milk that these guys make,” Pindell said.
Hundreds of cheesemakers from around the country sent the best of their bunch for judging at the Minnesota competition.
“For a really small company, you basically have to be like, is it worth it to do this? If you win an award, it’s probably worth it. But if you don’t, then you just have wasted like $200 on shipping,” Pindell said.
For the Pindells, it paid off. They were hard at work on the farm when they got the good news.
“We’re too small really to go to these big shows but to win an award at them — it’s just so great to hear,” Pindell said.
Two of Sage Farm’s cheeses got second place in the farmstead category, dedicated to cheese made from the milk of a farmer’s own animals and aged on the same farm. It’s the Morse Camembert’s second win and maple leaf-wrapped Maple Banon’s first.
A cheese award is nothing novel for Vermont, but for a tiny goat farm to win among cow giants, it’s a big deal. State data shows there are more than 13 times the number of cow farms compared to goat farms in Vermont today. Many of those dominating dairy farms win awards year after year. Still, underdogs like Sage Farm are standing their ground.
“It’s just really exciting to know that we are competing with much bigger farms that have a lot more employees, a lot more infrastructure a lot more machinery,” Pindell said.
Sage Farm’s cheese is sold at stores across the region but took off at local farmer’s markets and stores, like Commodities Natural Market just down the road. They get hand-delivered cheese from the Pindells themselves.
“Just shows up when we need it. Sometimes it’s really random but it sells out super fast. I don’t have a whole lot left today, but usually it’s gone within about 36 to 48 hours,” said the market’s Karl Bauer.
With goat milk selling for more than cow milk, Pindell believes Vermont will be seeing more goat farms in the years to come, and that she’s proud to be putting them on the map.
“You do see some of these bigger cow dairies turning to goats now. I love being a part of it,” she said.