Podcast

Jeni Tilton-Flood
Cabot Creamery

Jenni Tilton-Flood joined us this week to talk about life as a dairy farmer and being a part of the Cabot Creamery co-op. “For me as a dairy farmer and member of Cabot Cream co-op, it means our farm is an owner. We are one of 800+ farm families that own Cabot. It provides us the opportunity to be a group of owners that are steering a ship in very, very difficult waters as opposed to one small boat alone. It’s a comfort and salvation and opportunity.” said Jenni.

Cabot Creamery is a certified B Corp. and is the first dairy co-op to be a B Corp. Jenni said, “The way our farms are rooted in communities and society and focus on sustainability – the way our co-op can do that, was to be a B Corp.”

Jonathan and Jenni talk through the stereotypes of being a dairy farmer and what it’s like to be a woman in the farming industry. Jenni said “I fight stereotypes every day, all day, I was first generation born not on a farm. I grew up in the area – with dirt, crops, cows – but I always thought there was something different about it, not the norm. It allowed me to bring what wasn’t the norm in; i’ve always been a fan of sincere and innate nonconformity.”

The two cover a variety of topics including balancing the business financials with market fluctuations while keeping milk affordable for consumers. Dairy farming requires lots of resources and supply chain disruption can be felt across industries. As the conversation progressed, they talked about learning from previous generations, how to work with family and making sure farm to plate foods are being done correctly.

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