Lisa Kaiman,
the owner of Jersey Girls Dairy, went to the University of Vermont to study
animal science. She wanted to be a veterinarian and had been interested in food
consumption and food animals since grade school.
While she was
at UVM she was part of the group that created the CREAM (Cooperative for Real
Education in Agricultural Management) program, which still exists today. She
was then wait-listed for vet school so she began working on farms and fell in
love with it. When she was accepted into vet school she began to realize her
passion for food animal medicine. It became clear to her that vet school was
not her path. She desired to work more closely with cows on a different level.
At the various
farms she worked on, she learned many things about cows. Kaiman felt a strong
calling to lead by example, using what she was learning to demonstrate a new
way to handle cows.
After college
she bought a dairy farm that included a house, a barn and 33 acres. It was an
1830 property and needed a lot of work. Kaiman worked hard to make it livable
while working at different farms. She later received a loan to purchase farm
animals. October 1999 was her first milking month on the Jersey Girls Dairy
Farm, located in Chester, VT.
Kaiman
proclaimed, “Dairy is a lifestyle, not a job.” She milks 20 to 30 Jerseys and
has a small herd of beef cows which are crossbred. She also has 300 layer chickens.
She reported her cows are comfortable and happy. They graze in the summer and
in the winter feed on dry hay. She maintains a compassionate view of her cows.
She does not use artificial lighting so that they may sleep naturally.
She believes
cows prefer to be raised in groups and herds have relationships and social
interactions. Kaiman believes that if animals are making her living then she
owes them the best. She claims this is the reason for her high quality milk and
dairy products.
Jersey Girls
sells milk and cheese along with their meat products in the farm store. The dairy
products are processed on the farm. Jersey Girls sells to restaurants as well.
In addition, visitors to the farm can actually milk the cows.
Jersey Girls
has two full-time farm employees and two full-time product production
employees. Her main food processing worker has been with her for well over 10
years.
Jersey Girls
opens the farm for visitors to milk the cows.
Kaiman has
spoken at various conferences and will be speaking at the Northeastern Dairy
Conference on April 1 – 2.
Jersey Girls
continues to grow, using cutting edge developments to ensure high quality milk
products. Kaiman has developed a system combining food animal medicine and a
dairy business that keeps both her cows and her customers content.
